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MUFFALETTA PORCHETTA Makes 8-10 servings

Meanwhile, in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, combine fennel seeds, rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, salt and black pepper. Add oil and process until a smooth paste forms, around 20 to 30 seconds.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 7-pound piece fresh pork belly

3 tablespoons ground fennel or 1 tablespoon whole fennel seeds, ground ½ cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves ½ cup chopped fresh thyme leaves

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Remove pork belly from refrigerator and bring to room temperature before making your pork roll. When you are ready to cook, place scored side of pork belly face down on your cutting board. Spread olive salad over entire top of belly. Arrange mortadella and provolone cheese on top. Starting with the side closest to you, roll belly around the msortadella and cheese so the short ends of the belly meet, and secure with kitchen twine. Rub the outside of the pork roll with onion powder , salt and freshly ground black pepper, taking care to work mixture into the crosshatches. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Transfer the pork roll, fat side up, to a large roasting pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place in preheated oven and cook until pork registers 180°F as measured by a meat thermometer, around 2 to 2½ hours. Remove pan from oven and increase oven temperature to 500°F. Carefully remove and discard foil, and transfer pork roll to large plate. Discard liquid in pan. Line pan with foil. Remove twine from roast; return roast to pan, directly on foil; and return pan to oven. Cook until exterior of roast is well browned and interior registers 165°F, around 20 to 30 minutes.

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves 12 garlic cloves, peeled ½ cup extra virgin olive oil Rouses Olive Salad Mix

1 pound sliced mortadella or ham 1 pound sliced provolone cheese Onion powder Kosher salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper

HOW TO PREP: Using a sharp, strong knife, score the fat of the pork belly, taking care

not to cut down to the meat. This

encourages the fat to render outward and baste the pork, creating a crisp crust. Sprinkle generously

Transfer porchetta to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Slice roast in one-inch thick slices, then transfer to serving platter and serve.

with salt. Refrigerate uncovered at least 6 hours and preferably overnight to dry out the skin and make it crispy.

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

PORCHETTA ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT In Italy, porchetta (pronounced pohr-KEHT-tah) is a pork roulade, or roll. Although porchetta can be found throughout Italy, most notably in the west central region of Lazio, it likely originated in the central region of Umbria. In Costano, near Assisi, there is a museum of porchetta; in San Terenziano, there is a festival called Porchettiamo devoted to porchetta. Traditionally, to make porchetta, a whole suckling pig is deboned, filled with aromatic herbs and spices, and spit-roasted, with fat and skin still on, over juniper wood fires, or roasted in pits until the outer rind is crunchy. But a whole pig is not practical for most of us, nor is spit-roasting over juniper wood fires. To make porchetta at home, wrap a pork loin or pork roast with pork belly; the fat from the belly will baste the meat as it cooks, so you get the same layers of meat with pork fat and crackling-crisp pork skin. No belly? You can just use any boneless, well-marbled roast with skin or a thick fat cap and get the same juicy effect.

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