Pork Pibil

Serves 6-8 Starters and mains

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Method

Up to 2 days before cooking, or on the day, rub the salt all over the pork joint.

To make the marinade, heat a frying pan over a medium– high heat and add the black peppercorns, cloves, allspice berries and cinnamon, moving the spices around in the pan until warm to the touch and fragrant but not yet smoking. Transfer to a plate to cool a little, then grind to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Set aside.

Use the olive oil to grease the surface of the same pan, then add the garlic and onion and toast for a couple of minutes until lightly charred. Transfer to a blender and add the roasted ground spices, then add the remaining ingredients and blend to a paste.

Pour the marinade over the pork, rubbing it deep into the flesh. You can leave it to marinate for up to 2 days, or start cooking straightaway.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 150C/130C F/Gas 2. Criss-cross two long pieces of string, long enough to tie the banana leaves around the pork, across a roasting tin. Place a piece of foil over the string to catch any marinade that escapes, then place the banana leaves on top of the foil.

Put the pork and all the marinade in the centre of the banana leaves and fold them around the meat. Fold the foil into a neat parcel around the meat and tie it tightly with the string. Put the tied pork pibil in the oven and cook for 4 hours.

Unwrap the pork, which by now should be fall-apart tender, and pull into shreds – you may need heatproof gloves as it will be very hot. Wrap the pulled pork in the warmed tortillas and top with pickled onions and/or salsa, if using.

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