Roast suckling pig with crisp pigs' ear, baby squid, vinegar sponge and home air-cured ham

Ingredients

For the suckling pig
300g/10½oz salt
200g/7oz sugar
100g/4oz paprika
1 saddle suckling pig, boned and rolled
100g/4oz pork fat
For the crisp pigs' ear
6 suckling pigs' ears
300g/10½oz pork fat
50g/2oz plain flour
200ml/7fl oz vegetable oil, for deep frying
salt
For the lime bulgar wheat
200ml/7fl oz water
150g/5oz bulgar wheat
30g/1oz butter
½ lime, juice only
10g/¼oz salt
small handful fresh chives, chopped
For the baby squid
48 baby squid, cleaned
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the garlic oil
1 bulb garlic
200ml/7fl oz rapeseed oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the vinegar sponge
25g/1oz sugar
50ml/2fl oz water
100ml/3½fl oz Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
1 leaf gelatine, soaked in cold water until softened
For the walnut praline
150g/5oz walnuts
30ml/1fl oz walnut oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
celery cress
thinly sliced lardo (cured pig fat available from specialist Italian delis and stores)
small handful walnuts, grated
sea salt
spring onions, trimmed
pickled garlic, sliced
8 thin slices English air-cured ham
rich chicken stock
olive oil, preferably made with Kalamata olives

Method

1. For the suckling pig, mix the salt, sugar and paprika together in a bowl. Place the pig in a non-reactive container. Scatter over the salt, sugar and paprika mixture and leave to salt for 45 minutes. Wash off all the salt mix and vacuum pack the suckling pig saddle with the pork fat and seal with a commercial vacuum-packing machine. Cook the pig in a steamer at 90C/185F for two hours. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Remove the pig from the vacuum-packaging, place on a roasting tray and roast in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown and crisp. Rest for five minutes and slice when ready to serve.
2. For the crisp pigs' ears, preheat the oven to 100C/200F/Gas ½. Place the ears in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Once boiled, strain off the water and repeat this process again. Place the blanched pigs' ears in a roasting tin, cover with the pork fat and cook in the preheated oven for three hours.
3. Once the pigs' ears are cooked, remove from the fat and store in the fridge. Once chilled, slice into thin strips and dust with flour. Pat to remove any excess flour. Heat the vegetable oil to in a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan, until a breadcrumb sizzles and browns when dropped in it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous - do not leave unattended.) Fry the pigs' ears in hot oil until crisp. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oil again, add the cooked pigs' ears and re-fry until they puff and go crisp. Remove the pigs' ears from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and dry on kitchen paper again. Add a little salt to season.
5. For the lime bulgar wheat, pour the water into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the bulgar wheat, return to the boil and cook until the grains go soft. Add the butter and the lime juice and finish with salt and the chopped chives.
6. For the baby squid, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place the baby squid on a baking sheet, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and roast for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
7. For the garlic oil, wrap the bulb of garlic in aluminium foil and bake in the preheated oven until soft. Squeeze out the cooked garlic into a small blender and discard the papery skin. Add the oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and blend until smooth.
8. For the vinegar sponge, mix the sugar, water and the vinegar together in a bowl. Transfer 50ml/2 fl oz of the mixture into a saucepan and warm over a gentle heat on the stove. Place the rest of the mixture in the freezer and freeze until semi-frozen.
9. Remove the gelatine from the cold water, squeeze dry to remove the excess water and add to the warm sugar and vinegar mix in the pan on the stove. Stir until melted and then set aside. Pour the semi-frozen mix into a food processor and whisk until the ice crystals have broken down slightly. Slowly pour the melted gelatine into the semi-frozen mix and whisk for about 20 minutes or until the volume of mixture has tripled in size and the mixture has stiffened. Spoon the mixture into a baking tray and smooth the surface flat. Place in the fridge and leave to set. Once set cut in to 3 x 3 x 2cm (7½ x 7½ x 5cm) pieces.
10. For the walnut praline, place all the walnut praline ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
11. To serve, warm through all the component parts of the dish. Arrange the celery cress, lardo, walnuts, spring onions, pickled garlic and ham on each plate along with all the warm ingredients, topping the dish with the roast pig and a drizzle of jus and olive oil. Serve at once.