- 1.8kg pork leg, boned and rolled
- 1½ tbsp fennel seeds
- A handful of rosemary, leaves only
- 1½ garlic bulb
- 1½ bergamot lemon
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1.
Heat your oven to its highest temperature. Unwrap the pork and pat dry. Carefully pierce the skin with a sharp knife to make several holes, cutting 1cm deep. Peel and thickly slice 4 garlic cloves. Push a slice into each of the holes in the pork. Strip the leaves from the rosemary and push them into the same holes.
- 2.
In a mortar and pestle, crush together 1 tbsp fennel seeds and 1 tsp coarse sea salt. Zest the bergamot lemon and add to the mortar with 1 tbsp olive oil. Grind to a coarse paste. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use a small bowl and the bottom of a jam jar to roughly crush everything together. Generously rub the fennel salt all over the pork.
- 3.
Pop the joint into a roasting tin. Roast for 1 hr. Turn the temperature down to 160°C/Fan 140°C/Gas 3. Halve the remainder of the garlic bulb and halve the bergamot lemon. Tuck both under the pork with any leftover rosemary. Slow cook the pork for 3 hrs. Cover with a layer of foil if the skin darkens too quickly.
- 4.
Allow the pork to rest for at least 30 mins. The meat should be meltingly soft and the skin crispy. If the skin isn’t crisped up enough, pop under a hot grill for 2 mins.
- 5.
Remove the roasted bergamot lemon and garlic from the tin. Squeeze the roasted garlic flesh into a bowl and juice the bergamot lemon. Pour in the pork juices. Mix and serve with slices of the pork.
- Tip
Bergawho?
Bergamot lemons are a real seasonal treat. Also called Limonette de Marrakech or Lemon Beldi, they only grow in Marrakech, Morocco. The trees flower once a year, from December till February (the usual lemon tree has 4 flowerings a year and 3 to 4 crops). Fragrant and floral, they add a fresh flavour to roast pork. Store your bergamot lemon in your fridge till you're ready to cook with it.