Pot-roast loin of pork with celeriac, shallots & pancetta

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Ruth Watson

5 ratings

Recipe by Ruth Watson

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1. Using a small, sharp kitchen knife, stab through the fatty side of the pork loin to make about 30 fairly deep, randomly spaced incisions. Insert a sliver of garlic into each stab mark, pushing the garlic well into the meat and smoothing over the fat to close up the entry points. Reserve a few slivers to push in cuts made on the flesh-side of the joint.
2. Put 5 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice, fennel seeds and the leaves stripped from 4 oregano sprigs in a large non-reactive dish (a non-porous dish, such as glass or stainless steel, which won't react with acidic foods and alter the flavour). Grind in plenty of black pepper, then swish everything into a sludge with one clean hand. Put the joint into the dish and massage the marinade into every nook and cranny. Leave the pork to marinade for 6-24 hours in a cool place or the fridge.
3. When you are ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 4/fan oven 150C. Put the shallots in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 2 minutes to loosen the skins, then tip the shallots into a large sieve or colander and rinse under cold water. Trim off the root end, then peel the shallots, breaking any large ones into their natural segments. Halve each celeriac wedge, then cut into large, bite-sized chunks.
4. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Toss in the pancetta and fry for 2-3 minutes until slightly frazzled. Transfer the cubes to a large casserole big enough to take the pork, using a slotted spoon so the fat drains back into the pan. Throw the shallots and celeriac into the frying pan and sauté them for 3-4 minutes until coloured, turning frequently. Transfer them to the casserole, again draining off the oil.
5. Pull the frying pan to one side. Quickly scrape off any excess marinade from the pork loin, then season the meat with fine sea salt. Replace the frying pan over a medium-high heat and brown the pork on all sides, including the ends. Place the loin on the vegetables in the casserole. Stuff the remaining sprigs of oregano around it.
6. Pour off and discard all the fat in the frying pan, raise the heat and pour in the wine. Bring to the boil, scraping up all the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine bubble and reduce for 3 minutes, then pour into the casserole.
7. Place the casserole over a high heat and bring the juices up to a bubble. Immediately put the lid on the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Cook the loin for 1 hour 45 minutes, turning it halfway through. Remove the casserole from the oven and leave the pork to rest in a warm place for 15-30 minutes, still covered, before carving.

Make it leaner

Get your butcher to remove the skin and some of the fat (leaving about 5mm/¼in), as well as the chine bone - also called the back bone or vertebra - from the pork loin.

Per serving

836 kcalories, protein 62g, carbohydrate 3g, fat 58 g, saturated fat 23g, fibre 2g, salt 1.06 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• chocohol

  23 November 2007

  chocohol rated and commented on this recipe

  

  very nice, good on a cold winters evening.

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• psyren

  28 January 2008

  psyren commented on this recipe

  This was beautiful and quite easy to make! Nice variant of the Sunday roast.

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• miss.moss

  28 April 2008

  miss.moss rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Loved the dish, especially the celeriac -- I had no idea that it would roast so nicely! [Now I often add at least a few cubes to my veggies when I make roast pork or chicken.] Yum!

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• honeybee

  10 June 2008

  honeybee rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Cooked beautifully - couldn't get celeriac as I think it's out of season so replaced with celery and parsnips. The pork was so tender with enough garlic to give it a real kick. Recipe doesn't give a weight for the pork. I used a piece about 1 1/2 -2kg

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• sophieew

  27 October 2008

  sophieew rated and commented on this recipe

  

  A delicious alternative to the Sunday Roast, and so much less hassle. Cooked this over the weekend for entertaining friends at Sunday lunch. All was ready by first thing in the morning - no last minute rudhes, and second helpings for everyone. Highly reccomended.

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• Wayne

  23 March 2009

  Wayne commented on this recipe

  Can this be made in a slow cooker and if so for how long and on what temperature setting?

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• Cat

  04 April 2009

  Cat rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This was my first attempt at cooking a large joint of meat and it suffered from my lack of experience. I couldn't get pork loin so I bought a leg joint instead and, despite being a lighter piece of meat than the one in the recipe, it was still raw in the middle when the cooking time was finished. It was very tasty when I finally got it cooked (the celeriac was particularly good), but perhaps not tasty enough for the hassle it caused.

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Ingredients

• about 2½ kg British pork loin
• 6-8 garlic cloves , peeled and cut into thin slivers
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon , juice only
• 1 tsp dried fennel seeds
• 8 sprigs fresh oregano
• 300g shallots
• 1 large celeriac , quartered and peeled
• 1 x 130g twin-pack cubetti di pancetta (small cubes of Italian cured belly pork)
• 600ml full-bodied red wine - drink the remainder!

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 30 40 mins

Cook min 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients

• about 2½ kg British pork loin
• 6-8 garlic cloves , peeled and cut into thin slivers
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon , juice only
• 1 tsp dried fennel seeds
• 8 sprigs fresh oregano
• 300g shallots
• 1 large celeriac , quartered and peeled
• 1 x 130g twin-pack cubetti di pancetta (small cubes of Italian cured belly pork)
• 600ml full-bodied red wine - drink the remainder!

Per serving

836 kcalories, protein 62g, carbohydrate 3g, fat 58 g, saturated fat 23g, fibre 2g, salt 1.06 g

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