TO DRINK: Try a good pinot noir.
Suckling pig stuffed with sausage and Parma ham
Ingredients
- 1 suckling pig (about 6 – 8kg), deboned, head and trotters still attached, bones reserved
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 15 slices Parma ham
- 2kg good Italian sausage, removed from the casing
- large bunch of sage leaves
- 10 garlic cloves
- 6 bay leaves
- 300ml dry white wine
- 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
- 250ml (1 cup) olive/avocado oil
- 80ml (? cup) fennel seeds, toasted
- 2 whole nutmegs, freshly grated
- 100ml dry sherry
- 30ml (2 tbsp) butter, cold and cubed
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 250°C.
Place the pig on its back, spread its trotters apart and season all over. Lay the ham over the top surface. Spread the sausage meat evenly over the ham and top with the sage.
Bring the trotters together and sew the belly up with kitchen string and a large needle, starting at the jowls and leaving 3cm intervals between the stitches. Continue to the base of the tail and tie the string securely.
Place the reserved bones in a large roasting tray with the garlic, bay leaves, wine and stock (the liquidshould not cover the bones).
Rub the oil all over the pig and season liberally with salt, pepper, fennel seeds and nutmeg. Cover the snout, ears and tail with foil, Place the pig on top of the bones and roast for about 45 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C and roast for a further 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Remove the pig from the oven and allow to rest. Discard the bones and transfer all the roasting juices to a pot. Add the sherry and reduce until you have a gravy. Just before serving, whisk in the butter.
Slice the pig and serve with the gravy, with roasted potatoes and a simple green salad.
