Wild garlic porchetta with smashed potatoes & wild garlic pesto

If, like us, you’re making the most of wild garlic season, this could be the Easter recipe for you. Cut from the centre of the animal, our boned and rolled porchetta will have an incredible crispy crackling when exposed to high heat. Traditionally its stuffed with herbs like fennel, but we’ve added a swirl of hand-picked wild garlic to keep it seasonal. Serve with our pesto smashed potatoes, tenderstem broccoli and wild garlic flowers to garnish.

4 hours 10 mins

4

Hard

For the Porchetta:
• 1.5kg Field & Flower Wild Garlic & Thyme Porchetta
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• Small handful thyme or rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic
• 300ml white wine
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp softened butter

For the smashed potatoes:
• 750g new potatoes, halved if large
• Olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• For the wild garlic pesto:
• 75g wild garlic leaves
• 25g grated parmesan
• 25g toasted pine nuts
• 75ml olive oil

1. Remove the pork from its packaging and leave to sit, uncovered in the fridge, for at least 8 hours. Bring back to room temperature before cooking.

2. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4. Pat the meat as dry as possible with kitchen paper. Place the chopped vegetables in an even layer in the bottom of a roasting tray, pour in 500ml water, add the thyme or rosemary and unpeeled garlic cloves and place the pork on top of the vegetables. Season the pork skin with sea salt and pepper making sure the salt goes into the scores in the skin, then roast for 2.5 hours. Pour the wine into the tin and roast for another 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile make the pesto. Place the garlic leaves (reserve any flowers for garnishing later) into a blender with the grated parmesan and toasted pine nuts and pulse a few times. Then add the olive oil a little at a time until you have reached the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Boil the potatoes for 12-15 minutes or until tender, drain and allow to cool a little before crushing lightly with a fork. Heat a little olive oil in a shallow roasting tin, add the crushed potatoes, season well and add the garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes or until golden and crisp.

5. Once the pork has had 3 hours cooking, and the potatoes are cooked, remove the potatoes from the oven and set aside. Remove the pork and turn the oven up to 250°C/230°C fan/gas mark 8.

6. Tip the chopped carrots, celery and onion and cooking juices from the pork tray into a saucepan and then place the pork back in the oven and roast for another 25-30 minutes, or until the crackling is puffed up and golden brown (keep an eye on it).

7. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

8. To make the gravy, skim the fat off the top of the vegetables and juices in the saucepan, place the pan over a medium heat and crush with a potato masher to mash all the vegetables and release lots of flavour. Pass this mixture through a sieve into another pan and discard the vegetables in the sieve.

9. Mix the softened butter and flour together to make a paste and whisk into the saucepan until smooth. Bubble for a few minutes until the juices have thickened. Add the stock and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened to the desired consistency. Season to taste.

10. Warm the potatoes in the oven for a few minutes until piping hot.

11. Carve the pork into slices and serve with the gravy and the smashed roasted potatoes drizzled with wild garlic pesto.