Ingredients
Roast pork shoulder with stuffed onions
Pickled pear
Method
Pickled pear
1.Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F. Line two roasting pans with baking paper.
2.Slice the top 3cm (1¼ inches) off each onion; place onions in one pan. Roast, on bottom oven shelf, for 40 minutes or until soft in the centre and skin starts to darken. Cool slightly.
3.Pat pork dry with paper towel; rub scored skin well with oil, salt and season with freshly ground black pepper. Place half the sage leaves on base of second pan; place pork, skin-side up, on sage. Roast for 25 minutes.
4.Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs, currants, pancetta, parsley and butter in a medium bowl. Finely chop 1 teaspoon of the remaining sage; add to bowl. Using a small knife and a spoon, remove soft centres from onions, leaving a 1.5cm (¾-inch) thick edge around outside; discard onion centres. Fill onion cavities with breadcrumb mixture, slightly mounding crumbs over the top of onions.
5.Reduce oven to 180°C/350°F. Roast pork for 20 minutes; place stuffed onions on a separate shelf. Roast pork and onions for a further 1 hour. To test if pork is cooked, insert a meat thermometer into centre of thickest part: internal temperature should reach 71°C/160°F for medium and 77°C/170°F for well done. Rest pork and onions, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes.
6.Meanwhile, to make pickled pear; place pear, sugar and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar in a heavy-based saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook for 35 minutes or until pear is translucent and liquid is reduced. Add remaining vinegar.
7.Transfer pork to a warm platter; rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes.
8.Serve pork with stuffed onions and pickled pear.
Serving suggestion: deep-fry remaining sage leaves; serve them on top of roasted onions.
Note
