Christmas is the perfect occasion to celebrate the end of the year together with your family over food and wine. These were the main dishes I made for my family this year to say bye to a rather unusual 2020.
Recipes for the sides dishes are also shared at the bottom of the post:
- Burrata with tomato medley
- Witlof salad with walnut and honey mustard dressing
- Crispy oven roasted broccolini with anchovy, lemon and chilli dressing
- Roasted rainbow carrots with hazelnut
Difficulty: Medium/High
Time: Prep for the pork over 3 days, actually cooking 1 day on the day
Serves: 6
Ingredients*
Porchetta
- 2 kg pork belly
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 4 tsp black peppercorns
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt, plus extra for salting
- 16 sage leaves
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Jerusalem Artichoke Puree
- 400g Jerusalem artichoke peeled and sliced
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 tbsp butter
- salt
Radicchio
- 2 radicchio quartered
- 3 tbsp 3 leaves balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Jus
- 1 large shallot finely sliced
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cup juice from the sous vide pork
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp dark soy
- 3 tsp butter
- salt
- pepper
* I'll list the ingredients and methods for making the side dishes at the very end of this.
Method
Three Days Prior
1. Toast the fennel seeds until fragrant, then pound with a mortar and pestle with the peppercorns, garlic, salt, sage and chilli to produce a rough paste. Mix through the oil.
2. Place the pork belly skin side up, use a knife to score the skin diagonally. Then flip the pork belly around to place the skin side on the chopping board, cut across the pork belly length ways between the skin and the meat all the way across to almost the end, but don't cut through. Open it like a book and rub the herb and spice mixture from step 1 thoroughly on both side of the meat. Roll the meat into a scroll and wrap the skin around it. Tie it with strings evenly across the roll to hold it in shape. Leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight.
Two Days Prior
1. Place the pork belly into a ziplock bag, cook in a sous vide bath at 64 degrees over 24 hours.
One Day Prior
1. Take the pork belly out of the ziplock bag, dry thoroughly with kitchen paper towels. Season the skin with salt. Place it on a baking rack and let it dry in the fridge overnight.
2. Resereve the pork juice from inside the sous vide bag and keep it inside the fridge. You should get approximately 1 cup of liquid.
On the Day
1. Take the pork belly out of the fridge to bring it back to room temperature.
2. Make the sauce by sautéing the sliced shallots with some oil in a saucepan until well caramelised, add 1 tbsp of honey and let it caramelise further over medium heat. Deglaze with the red wine and cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the pork juice reserved from the night prior, the balsamic vinegar, the dark soy sauce and cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2. Pass the sauce through a sieve before returning it back to the saucepan. Slowly incorporate the butter over medium heat until you get a glossy jus that just hangs at the back of your spoon. Take it off the heat, keep warm and set adie.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees. Place the pork belly in it and cook in oven for 30 minutes. Take it out, season the skin generously with salt and set aside once ready.
4. Add the peeled and sliced Jesursalem artichoke into a small pot with the chicken stock and a squeeze of lemon juice, bring to boil then simmer for about 20 minutes or until fully softned. Add the butter and cream and warm through ensuring the butter is melted. Add the Jerusalem artichoke with just enough liquid (about 1/4 cup) to a food processor to blend into a smooth puree. Set aside and keep warm.
5. Heat up 3mm of oil on a cast iron pan over medium heat. Pan fry the skin of the pork belly in oil until it's crispy and golden all over. Take it out on a chopping board and let it cool down and rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into portions.
6. Heat up some oil in the pan, sautée the radicchio quarters until softened, season well with salt and pepper and finish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
7. Assemble by placing a slice of the porchetta on the plate, followed by Jerusalem artichoke puree, followed by the sautéed radicchio quarters and jus. Enjoy!
SIDE DISHES
A. Burrata with Tomato Medley
Ingredients
- 1 large burrata
- 1 punt tomato medley sliced
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp lemon infused olive oil
- salt
- lemon zest
- red veined sorrel leaves
Method
1. Place the sliced tomatoes on the plate, followed by the burrata in the middle. Dress generously with salt, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, lemon infused olive oil. Garnish with lemon zest and red veined sorrel leaves.
B. Witlof Salad with Walnut and Honey Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 witlofs leaves sliced into half lengthways
- 1 handful walnut roasted and hand crushed into smaller pieces
- 1 garlic minced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 8 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Method
1. Make the honey mustard dressing by mixing garlic, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, honey, olive oil in a bowl until well emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Place the witlof leaves on the plate, top with roasted walnut and dress generously with the honey mustard dressing before serving.
C. Crispy Oven Roasted Broccolini with Anchovy, Lemon and Chilli Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 bunches broccolini
- 4 anchovies finely chopped
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Coat the broccolini well with olive oil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until slightly crispy and charred. Let it cool and slice it into biteable size.
2. Make the dressing by adding the anchovies, lemon juice, garlic, dried chilli flakes, olive oil in a bowl, mix well and season with salt and pepper. Dress the broccolini generously with the dressing before placing it on the serving plate.
D. Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Hazelnut
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch rainbow carrots peeled
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- roasted hazelnut
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Dress the carrots generously with olive oil, season well with salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves and place it on a baking tray. Cook for 20-30 minutes until softened turning once half way.
2. Place the carrots on a plate and sprinkle with lightly crushed roasted hazelnut.