Passion for Pork www.PassionforPork.com

Recipe: Roast Pork Leg with Rhubarb Sauce

Cassandra Anderton - Monday, May 9, 2016

It’s full on spring here in Vancouver and last weekend was the first of the spring farmers markets. There’s a few spring veggies out already, but it’s the rhubarb and the asparagus that get me super excited when they make their first appearance. I love spring cooking as I try to cook mostly seasonal and there’s finally some new produce to work with.

You’ll also find a good selection of proteins at the market and one of my favourite pork vendors is Gelderman Farms. However, I usually require a special cut of meat and therefore rely on my amazing local butcher, Pete’s Meats. For this recipe I wanted about a kilogram of pork leg rolled up, and Pete always takes the time to cut my meat to order; just call ahead if you want something special. (604) 730-1661

Pete's Meat

Pete carries Gelderman Farms Pork as well, and I am a firm believer in buying local and knowing where your meat comes from. This is the leg before he carved it up for me.

Roast Pork

Ingredients

1 kg pork leg, boned, rolled and scored
salt, black pepper
10 thyme sprigs
1 cup chicken broth
A selection of vegetables cut into chunks, try carrots, celery, onions, parsnip, potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes
1/2 cup olive oil

for the sauce:
1/2 kg rhubarb
2 tbsp sugar
juice of a small orange and it’s zest

Rub pork with, pepper 1/8 cup of olive oil and a get right into the score marks. Heat oven until 425F. Add chopped veggies to the pan and top with salt and pepper, splashes of the remaining olive oil and the thyme. Roast for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350F for 50 minutes.

Make the rhubarb sauce. Trim the stalks and cut into short pieces and add to a pan with the sugar and orange. Boil and then turn to simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree with a hand blender and add some salt and pepper to taste.

Roast Pork

Remove the pork from the oven and cover loosely with foil and a towel and rest for 15 minutes. Remove veggies and put the roasting pan on the heat and pour in the chicken broth and bring to boil for a few minutes. Carve up pork and serve with veggies and some asparagus, topping withe the gravy and some rhubarb sauce. We added some boiled potatoes and basil to the plate for colour.

Happy Spring!