Roast Pork Loin and Crackling with Colcannon

• serves 4

• Preparation time: 20 mins (plus drying time)

• Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2 – 3 kg rolled pork loin, rind on and scored
Salt for rubbing
Oil
1 bulb garlic, sliced
1 bunch sage, ripped
2 cinnamon sticks, broken
4 star anise
Large knob of ginger, sliced
200g butter
Aluminium foil

Colcannon
5 Desiree potatoes
½ bunch of kale, sliced
2 small spring onions, finely sliced
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly cut
50 g butter
100 ml cream
Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Rub salt into rind and for best crackling results, leave uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out. Wipe off the salt and heat 1 cm of oil in a large pan or tray big enough to fit the roast over a medium heat on the stove top. Place the roast rind side down in the pan for about 10 minutes. As it starts to crackle, move every now and then so that it doesn’t burn. When the skin is crisp and golden, turn the meat in the pan to seal.
Make a foil base the length of the pork that it can sit in. Add cinnamon sticks, star anise, sage, butter, garlic and ginger to the base. Place the pork on top of the foil bed, squeezing the foil around the meat leaving the crackling exposed.
Place in a pre-heated oven on a baking tray at 200°C for 40 minutes (for rare) to 1 hour (for white). Rest for 10 – 12 minutes, then slice using some of the juice from the base to rub on the pork. Serve with colcannon.

To make colcannon, boil potatoes without skins. Mash to desired consistency, add butter, cream, spring onions, parsley and kale and stir to combine. Dress with and dash of olive oil.

Notes