Pork neck roast with mushrooms

Serves 6

• 1 large deboned pork neck (about 2kg)

• 2 onions, sliced

• 4 bay leaves

• 350 ml beer or apple juice (non-alcoholic beer can still be purchased)

STUFFING

• 30 ml olive oil

• 8 large sage leaves

• 1 clove garlic, sliced

• 400g mushrooms, chopped

• zest of 1 lemon

• 6 slices of smoked ham

• 5 sprigs of thyme

1 Gently fry the sage and garlic in the olive oil until the garlic starts to colour; spoon out and fry the mushrooms in the oil until golden brown. Season with salt, pepper and lemon zest, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Use a sharp knife to butterfly the pork and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the slices of ham in a layer on top of the meat, followed by the mushrooms, garlic and crispy sage leaves. Roll up the meat tightly and secure with string at 2cm intervals to form a neat roll.

3 Sear the pork all over in a dash of olive oil in an ovenproof casserole. Add the onions, bay leaves, thyme and beer (or apple juice) to the dish, close the lid and roast in the oven for 1 hour. Reduce the temperature to 160°C and roast for another hour or until the meat is soft and tender.

4 Remove the meat from the dish and let it rest before carving. Strain the pan juices and reduce on the stovetop to make a sauce.