Roast pork is undoubtedly a firm family favourite, especially when it comes with its golden armour of tasty crackling. Sadly, most pigs these days are reared to be low fat and the meat has lost most of its flavour. If you can get a free-range or organically reared product you will have a much porkier and infinitely superior flavour. The rather bland flavour of the lean pork is really zipped up by a mouth-tingling hit of aromatic pepper and comfortingly sweet cinnamon. For this dish we use a cut of pork called scotch fillet, which is the extension of the loin, and often comes oven-ready: trimmed, rolled and tied neatly with string. But do look for a piece that still has a thin layer of white fat– you don’t want it stripped completely of its fatty layer as this creates important lubrication during the cooking process.
Slow-cooking allows the flavours of the marinade to meld into the meat. The moisture from the olive oil and water helps create some steam in the oven, which prevents it becoming stringy and dry.