Take your Easter lunch to the next level with three amazing recipes!
First off, we’ll show you how to create Porchetta with Fennel, Oregano and Thyme Stuffing. To complement this delightful dish, we’ll give you a Skillet Potato Gratin recipe. And finally, you’ll discover the method to making mouthwatering Roasted Heirloom Beetroots, Carrots with Charred Radicchio, Raspberry Vinegar, & Currant Dressing.
Porchetta with Fennel, Oregano and Thyme Stuffing
Serves 8
Prep and cook time 3 hours, plus drying and resting
Ingredients
3 kg pork belly (see note), butterflied, scored at 2cm intervals
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 fennel bulb (300gm), finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, crushed
⅓ cup finely chopped oregano leaves
2 tbsp thyme leaves
1 tbsp dried oregano
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1½ tbsp fennel seeds, toasted
¼ cup sea salt flakes
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups sourdough breadcrumbs, crusts removed, coarsely torn
6 red and green apples (see note), halved
Method
1. Place pork belly, skin-side up on a large tray. Rub 1 tbsp salt flakes over the skin and into the scoring. Dry out in the refrigerator uncovered for 1-2 days, if time allows. This will ensure extra crunchy crackling.
2. Remove pork from refrigerator to come to room temperature. Heat half the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook fennel and garlic, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes or until softened. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool. Add remaining oil, fresh and dried herbs, lemon zest, fennel seeds, 1 tbsp salt flakes, pepper and sourdough breadcrumbs to the fennel mixture and mix well until combined.
3. Preheat oven to 225°C. Place the roasting rack inside of the large roasting tray. Turn the pork onto a clean work surface, skin-side down. Using your hands, evenly spread the stuffing mixture over the pork. Roll into a log, ensuring the skin stays on the outside and doesn’t roll into the centre. Tie pork at 3cm intervals with kitchen string. Drizzle with oil and season with remaining 1 tbsp salt flakes.
4. Place pork, seam-side down onto the rack. Roast for 20 minutes before reducing temperature to 180°C. Carefully, add green apples to the tray. Roast for a further 1 hour and 30 minutes or until skin is crackling and meat is cooked and reached an internal temperature of 63°C. Remove from oven and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place red apples in a tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes while the pork is resting.
5. Thickly slice pork to serve.
Note: Ask your butcher to butterfly the pork belly for stuffing and score the rind if you don’t have a razor blade. Red and green apples have different cooking times.
Skillet Potato Gratin
Serves 8
Prep and cook time 1 hr 45 mins (plus cooling)
Ingredients
300 ml thickened cream
100 gm butter
2 bunches sage, leaves picked, stems reserved
2 garlic cloves, crushed
75 gm provolone, finely grated
30 gm each parmesan and pecorino, finely grated
2 kg small Desiree potatoes, peeled, cut into 3mm-thick slices
80 ml (⅓ cup) olive oil
Method
1. Place cream, butter, sage stems and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to just below a simmer, stirring occasionally until butter melts and mixture combines. Set aside to cool. Strain, discarding solids.
2. Preheat oven to 190°C. Combine cooled cream mixture, provolone, and half each of the parmesan and pecorino in a large bowl. Season to taste. Add the potato slices and mix to coat in the mixture, ensuring each slice is coated to prevent the potatoes from sticking together. Arrange potato in the skillet, side-by-side vertically. Pour over any remaining cream mixture. Scatter with remaining parmesan and pecorino. Cover with foil. Place over low heat for 15 minutes or until cream is simmering.
3. Transfer to the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for a further 25-30 minutes until potato is tender. Change the oven to grill on high heat. Grill for 2 minutes or until golden.
4. Meanwhile, pour oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, cook sage leaves, stirring for 2 minutes or until translucent and dark green. Remove and drain on paper towel.
5. Scatter gratin with fried sage leaves to serve.
Roasted Heirloom Beetroots, Carrots with Charred Radicchio, Raspberry Vinegar, & Currant Dressing
Serves 8
Prep and cook time 1½ hrs
Ingredients
125 ml (½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
60 ml (¼ cup) raspberry vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp raw sugar
¼ cup currants
2 eschalots, finely diced
1 bunch each baby red and golden beetroots, peeled, leaving 3cm stems attached
3 bunches heirloom baby carrots, such as orange, yellow and purple, peeled, larger ones, halved
2 radicchios, halved
1 bunch basil, leaves picked
Method
1. While the pork is cooking, make the dressing. Whisk olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a bowl until well combined and sugar has dissolved. Season to taste. Reserve ¼ cup in a small bowl to pickle beetroot slices. Stir in currants and chopped eschalot into remaining dressing. Set aside until needed.
2. Using a mandolin, very thinly slice 1 golden and 1 red beetroot and add to bowl with reserved dressing and set aside to lightly pickle. Halve or quarter the remaining beetroot.
3. Line a large roasting pan with baking paper. Arrange beetroot and carrots onto the tray in a single layer. Drizzle with oil and season; toss to coat.
4. Roast in oven at 180°C – on the top shelf for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat a char-grill pan to high heat. Drizzle cut-side of radicchio with oil. Char-grill cut-side down for 4 minutes or until charred. Remove and slice in half.
6. Arrange roast vegetables, pickled beetroot, and radicchio onto a platter. Drizzle with dressing and garnish with basil leaves to serve.
More Easter Lunch Recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas for your Easter feast? Check out these delightful ideas:
Crisp Saltbush & Pepper Tiger Prawns with Roasted Green Chilli Salsa Easter Recipe
Dark Chocolate Hot Cross Bun Cake Easter Recipe
Millionaire’s Shortbread with Espresso Caramel Easter Recipe