Pomegranate & Pistachio Porchetta

Make your most amazing festive feast for family and friends this Christmas. Flavoured with beautifully in-season pomegranates and pistachios, this succulent porchetta recipe is every mouthful a delight. Serve with your favourite selection of winter vegetables and crispy roast potatoes for a truly memorable meal. 

Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 3-4 hours

• 2.5-3kg Pork Belly, boned and skin scored (your butcher can do this for you).
• 200g Pork Sausage Meat
• 2tbsp Pomegranate Molasses
• 50g Pistachios, roughly chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1tsp Flaky Salt, plus extra for the skin
• Olive Oil to drizzle

• 1tsp Coriander Seeds
• 1tsp Cumin Seeds
• 4 Cloves
• 8 Black Peppercorns
• ½ tsp Cinnamon, ground
• 1 tsp Paprika (not smoked)
• Good Grating of Nutmeg

1. Begin with the spice mix. Toast the whole spices in a frying pan until fragrant, then add to a pestle and mortar/spice grinder with the cinnamon, paprika and nutmeg and blend until fine.
2. Mix the spices, salt, garlic, pomegranate molasses and pistachios into the sausage meat with your hands.
3. Unroll the pork belly and spread the sausage meat evenly over the surface, leaving a 2cm gap at one of the short ends.
4. Take the opposite short end and roll up tightly. Continue rolling until you reach the end.
5. Keeping the pork seam side down, tie with string at 3cm intervals, knotting as you go.

6. Lay in a large roasting tray and pop in the fridge uncovered, overnight to allow the skin to dry out.

7. The next day, preheat oven 200°C fan and massage the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little extra salt and rub this in as well.

8. Turn the pork seam side up and roast for 15 minutes to set the roll in place. Turn seam side down and roast for another 20 minutes.

9. Reduce the oven to 130°C fan and cover the pork with foil so it is completely enclosed. Roast for a further 3-3.5 hours or until the juices run clear.

10. Remove the pork and rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. This also tastes beautiful at room temperature.

11. Serve with your favourite selection of winter vegetables and crispy roast potatoes. And enjoy!