Ingredients
- 1 kg. of pork spare ribs (about, with at least six ribs, skin-on)
- Pinch salt
- Pinch black pepper (freshly milled)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (or to taste)
- 8 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 6 sprigs of rosemary (finely chopped)
- 12 leaves sage (finely chopped)
- 1 Tbsp. lard (or butter)
- 7/8 cup white wine (7 fl oz/200 ml)
- 6 small shallots (or 3 large ones, cut in half lengthwise)
- 6 stalks celery (cut into 3-inch/8 cm pieces)
- 6 small carrots
- 6 small turnips (meiknolletjes, purple top white globe turnips)
Steps
Prepare the rack of pork. Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking so that it can get back to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Using a sharp knife, score the skin and fat in a cross-hatch pattern. Rub the rib roast with salt, pepper, and oil making sure you get into all those notches and cavities and tuck a sliver of garlic and the chopped herbs into the cuts you’ve made.
Brown the rib roast. Heat the lard (or butter) in a frying pan over a medium heat until the fat foams. Brown the rack of pork on all sides. Pour the white wine over the meat and add the shallots and celery. Put the meat in the roasting tin with the skin side up, and place in the oven. You may want to use a trivet/rack if your roasting tin has one – it ensures that the bottom of the rib roast cooks evenly.
Roast the rack of pork. Cook the meat in the oven for 25 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and allow to cook for a further 25 minutes. Now place the meat on top of the vegetables. If the vegetables look dry, add a little water to stop them from burning. Keep the meat moist by basting it with the cooking juices a few times during the remaining cooking time. The pork will be perfectly pink at a core temperature of 140 F (58 C) – a meat thermometer is indispensable here.
Rest the rib roast and serve. Remove the roasting tin from the oven. Cover it with foil and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Place the meat on a cutting board, and serve one generous rib per person. Serve with the oven-roasted vegetables.
