Pumpkin seeds give gorgeous flavour to the sauce of this roast pork dinner.
Ingredients
- 3kg piece boneless pork shoulder, skin scored at 1cm intervals
- 12 bay leaves
- 12 cloves garlic
- 2 lemons, zested
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 225ml olive oil
- 2kg skinny orange sweet potatoes (kumara), scrubbed
- 12 eschalots, unpeeled
- 4 cobs corn, husks removed, quartered
Pepita sauce
- 1/2 slice day-old bread
- 100g pepitas (green pumpkin seeds), roasted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/4 long red chilli, seeded
- 1 1/2 cups flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves
- 250ml (1 cup) olive oil
- 125ml (1/2 cup) lemon juice
Method
- Step 1To marinate pork, trim excess fat from pork flesh, then prick flesh all over with a fork. Process 6 bay leaves, garlic, lemon zest, chilli flakes and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely chopped. Add 125ml (1/2 cup) oil and process until combined. Pour marinade into a roasting pan, then add the pork, skin-side up, ensuring skin remains dry. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 3 hours or overnight to dry out skin.
- Step 2Preheat oven to 190C. Rub 2 teaspoons salt into pork skin. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat. Add pork, skin-side down, and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low–medium and cook for a further 10 minutes or until skin is light golden and crisp.
- Step 3Return pork, skin-side up, to pan with marinade and roast on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes.
- Step 4Meanwhile, cut sweet potatoes and eschalots in half lengthwise, then place in a large bowl. Add corn, remaining 6 bay leaves and 80ml (1/3 cup) oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Transfer to a roasting pan.
- Step 5Swap pork to the bottom shelf of the oven and place the vegetables on the top shelf. Roast for 45 minutes or until pork is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Remove pork from the oven and rest, loosely covered, for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 50C and leave vegetables to keep warm.
- Step 6Meanwhile, to make pepita sauce, place bread in a bowl filled with water for 10 seconds. Squeeze to remove excess moisture. Process pepitas, bread, cumin, garlic, chilli, herbs and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely chopped. With the motor running, gradually add oil and process until combined.
- Step 7Stir lemon juice into pepita sauce. Thin with a little water if desired. Makes 2 cups.
- Step 8Carve pork into slices along score marks and serve with the roasted vegetables and pepita sauce.
- High fibre
- Low carb
- Low sodium
- Lower gi
Nutrition
5897 kj
Energy
98g
Fat Total
27g
Saturated Fat
10g
Fibre
82g
Protein
233mg
Cholesterol
274.39mg
Sodium
18g
Carbs (sugar)
48g
Carbs (total)
All nutrition values are per serve
Notes
Allow an extra 3 hours to marinate the pork, but for extra-crisp crackling and more flavour-packed meat, marinate the pork overnight.
- Author: Sophia Young
- Image credit: Chris Chen
- Publication: MasterChef
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