Roast pork leg with cherry & almond couscous stuffing

Roast Pork Leg with Cherry & Almond Couscous Stuffing

  • Dish Type Roast
  • Occasion Entertaining
  • Cut Leg
  • Serves 6-8
  • Prep Time 25 mins
  • Cook Time 1 hr 25 mins

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Couscous
  • ½ cup Hot chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • ½ Small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 Clove garlic, crushed
  • 25g Baby spinach leaves
  • 2 tbsp Slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1 Egg, lightly beaten
  • 50g Frozen pitted cherries, thawed, drained, chopped
  • 1.3kg Pork leg
  • 1 tbsp Salt

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Step 2

Place the couscous in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the hot chicken stock and lemon juice. Cover and stand for 4-5 mins or until stock is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Cool.

Step 3

Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a small frying pan. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for 2-3 mins or until softened. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for 2 mins or until spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Cool. Add the cooled spinach mixture, nuts and egg to the cooled couscous and mix to combine. Gently stir in the cherries.

Step 4

Remove string from pork. Place pork on a chopping board, rind-side down. Using a knife, cut vertically down the centre of the pork, making sure you don’t cut all the way through to the rind. Cover pork with plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, flatten pork meat slightly to an even thickness all over. Press couscous stuffing in a vertical line down the centre of the pork. Roll each side of the pork over the stuffing to enclose. Tie the pork securely with kitchen string at 4cm intervals.

Step 5

Place the pork, rind-side up, in a large oiled roasting pan. Wipe rind dry with paper towel. Rub with the remaining oil then rub with the salt. Roast for 20 mins. Reduce oven to 180°C and roast for 1 hour or until pork is cooked through. Transfer pork to a plate. Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 mins. Slice pork thinly. Serve.

TIP: If you have time, remove the pork from the packaging, place on a plate in the fridge, uncovered, for an hour. This helps to dry out the rind, resulting in even crisper crackle.

SERVE WITH: Roasted baby carrots and kipfler potatoes.