• 1h30
• serving

Ingredients

For the marinade

1 piece of pork leg with bone and skin (about 4 kg)
1 pineapple
1 pepper
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
4 onions
6 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
5 black peppercorns

For the sauce

all the marinade liquid
1/2 onion (taken out from the marinade)
1 tablespoon of Andorinha Selection Olive Oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

The marinade

Prepare the marinade ingredients: peel and cut the pineapple into pieces, transfer to a blender and blend with the white wine until smooth; peel and mash the garlic cloves; cut the onions in quarters: pass the knife through the middle of the root, peel and keep the root of each section, so the petals are united – reserve one of the halves to make the sauce.
Use a deep roasting pan as the pork leg releases a lot of liquid and fat when roasting. This is where you will prepare the marinade: place the pork leg, add the onions, garlic cloves, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and black peppercorns. Drizzle the pork with the pineapple juice, cover with film and leave it in the fridge for at least 3 hours — turn the meat during this time so that all sides are immersed in the marinade. If you prefer, leave it in the fridge overnight.

To roast

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (medium temperature). Take the pork leg out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature while the oven is heating — the pork should not go cold in the oven.
Transfer the pork to a platter and strain the marinade liquid over a bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cloves and peppercorns. Return the onions and garlic cloves to the pan. Put the liquid in the fridge — it will be used to make the sauce.
Dry the pork leg skin with paper towel. With a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts on the skin, forming lozenges — just cut the skin, superficially, without cutting it through. Place the pork on the baking dish, season the whole piece with 2 tablespoons of salt and drizzle olive oil on the skin.
Cover the baking dish with 2 sheets of aluminum foil and roast for three and a half hours until cooked through. To check, stick a knife in the center of the piece close to the bone and check that the liquid comes out clean — if it is still bloody, let it cook for longer (it takes one hour to roast one kilo of pork; the last half hour uncovered).
Once it is roasted, remove the foil and put the pork leg back in the oven. Increase the temperature to 240 °C (high temperature) and cook for another 30 minutes until the skin is crispy. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.

The sauce

Finely chop half the onion and pepper.
In a small saucepan, place the oil and cook over low heat. When it melts, add the onion and peppers and season with a pinch of salt. Sauté for about 3 minutes until wilted.
Add the honey and mix well. Sprinkle the flour and stir for about 3 minutes, until it looks like glue — this mixture of butter and flour, called roux, will thicken the sauce.
Remove the pan from the heat, drizzle with ½ cup of the marinade liquid and mix well with a wire whisk to dissolve all the flour lumps. Add the remaining liquid gradually, stirring until smooth — it is important to add the liquid gradually so it doesn’t get lumpy.
Return the pan to low heat, put the lid on and let it cook for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Turn off the heat, check the salt and black pepper and transfer to a sauce boat.
Take the pork leg out of the oven and serve it with the pineapple sauce and the onions and peppers left in the pan.