“Maiale al Latte” with sage and lemon

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1.5-2kg pork neck roast or pork shoulder

Salt and black pepper

2 Tbls. olive oil

20g butter

8 cloves garlic, smashed

zest + juice of 1 lemon

Leaves from one bunch of sage

1 bay leaf

100 ml white wine

750ml milk

Optional: serve with soft Polenta or pasta or with roast potatoes

Method:

First, season your pork with salt and black pepper and leave it, covered, in the fridge overnight. Season for a minimum of 2 hours if you forget/can’t do overnight.

Heat a dutch oven pot over medium/high heat and pre heat your oven to 150C. Add the butter and olive oil to the pot and then add in the pork. Brown it evenly on all sides. This takes about 10 minutes. Then remove it from the pot onto a nearby plate. Add in the lemon zest, garlic cloves, bay leaf and sage leaves. Let the sage leaves sizzle in the fat for a minute and then add in the white wine to deglaze. Let that cook off for a minute and then add the pork back in and add the milk. It should come halfway up the sides of the pork, if it doesn’t, add a bit of water or a bit more milk. Bring to a simmer, place the lid on the pot and put it into the preheated oven for 3 hours. Flip the pork roast over twice during the cooking at the one hour and then 2 hour mark.

Remove the roast from the oven and allow it to cool in the juices slightly before serving (about 10 minutes). Add the juice of the lemon to the pot at the last minute and taste the braising liquid for seasoning, you may want to add a bit more salt and black pepper.

Serve over soft polenta or over pasta or serve with roast vegetables and salad.