Leg of Spiced Pork Slow-Braised in Red Wine with Prunes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp cracked pepper
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground allspice
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 5.5 to 6.3kg leg of fresh pork, its bone intact, its fat trimmed
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, minced
• 3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled,crushed and minced
• 2 bay leaves
• stick of cinnamon
• up to 6 cups red wine
• 680g prunes, stoned

Method

Combine the salt, pepper and the dry spices together and massage this mixture into the pig’s haunch. Place the leg in a non-corrosive vessel, covering it tightly with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest in the fridge for 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 220°C. In a large terracotta or ceramic casserole or a roasting pan, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic to translucence. Massage the haunch with the remaining oil, place it over the sautéed aromatics and roast it for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 160°C and add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and 2 cups of red wine. Braise the pork, uncovered, basting it at 15-minute intervals with its juices and judicious doses of red wine to compensate for evaporation.

Meanwhile, plump the prunes in more of the red wine over a low flame. After 3½ hours, add the prunes to the roasting pan and continue to baste and braise the haunch for another ½-1 hour. Remove the haunch from the oven and allow it to rest in its juices for 30 minutes. Remove the pork from its pan, carve it into thin slices, and present it with its braising juice studded with the prunes.

Serves 12