“…they saw a light rain of tiny yellow flowers falling. They fell on the town all through the night in a silent storm, and they covered the roofs and blocked the doors…So many flowers fell from the sky that in the morning the streets were carpeted with a compact cushion and they had to clear them away with shovels and rakes…” One hundred years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This month’s book club pick was this magnificent novel.

An epic story about a family spanning several generations, the magic realism is what makes this one of my favorite books.

A cloud of yellow butterflies follow a man around wherever he goes.

Flowers fall from the sky incessantly.

A beautiful woman floats into thin air.

Magical things happen.

Something like that happened when I tried my hand at roast pork for the very first time.

It all began with a glorious hunk of pork. It had the perfect ratio of fat to meat, and lovely skin.
I could foresee some crispy crackling in my future 🙂

After almost four hours, the roast was ready to cut into and it was tender and flavourful and had all the other wondrous qualities that pork always has. The veggies and potatoes I baked with the roast were sweet and caramelized- the perfect accompaniment along with some gravy (unashamedly out of a packet).

Leftover slices of roast pork are great in sandwiches as well. If there are any leftovers that is 😉
Magical, magical pork 🙂

Roast pork with caramelized winter vegetables
(Masterchef Australia hangover recipe name)

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 3-4 hours
Serves: 6-8
Eat this with: Some bread and gravy

Ingredients:

500 g pork, a large piece with skin, fat and meat
salt, for drying
50 ml apple cider vinegar
2 carrots, halved lengthways and cut into 3 large chunks each
4-6 medium potatoes, skin on
6-8 bulbs of garlic
2 onions, peeled and quartered
warm water

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200º C. Score the skin with a sharp knife. Cut through, but not too deep and aim for criss crossy look. Rub salt all over the skin. This will dry it out, making for extra crispy crackling 🙂
2. Place the pork on a baking tray. Put all the vegetables and potatoes around the pork. Drizzle the apple cider vinegar around the veggies and add a little bit of warm water.
3. Place the tray in the oven. Leave inside for 3 to 3 ½ hours. Check every half an hour and add a few teaspoons of warm water every time the tray seems dry. Rotate the pork and the veggies at least twice during the baking time. Spoon some of the juices from the tray onto the pork a few times, to keep it moist throughout the process.
4. You will be able to tell when it is cooked. The top will be beautifully crisp and when you cut into the pork, it won’t be red inside. Take out the tray and leave it to rest for about half an hour before you eat.