It certainly has been a good time for me to start cooking more ethnic food.  I love the lengthy process of ethnic cooking.  Marinating, sauteeing, simmering, etc.  The compounding of flavors and the wonderful aroma that fills your home, the mixing of ingredients and the warm air coming from the stove.  Ahh, it’s such a pleasure to make dishes like these!  Without further ado, I’ll try my best to give a brief recipe.  I started off by putting the pork shoulder in a big bowl.  I poured in some apple cider vinegar so that I can easily rinse off any excess fat.  I discard the apple cider vinegar and whatever bits of flesh that comes off of the pork.  I thought this was a neat way to incorporate a little ACV into my diet (even though most of it is washed off).  Next, with a small knife I poke holes in the pork, careful of not poking any holes on the outside skin.  I slather my homemade lemon fennel marinade all over the pork.  Cover and keep in the fridge overnight.

Lemon Fennel Marinade:

I simply use a measuring cup and whisk in the following ingredients – 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, 5 minced garlic cloves, 1 1/2 tablespoons of fennel seeds, 2 teaspoons of dried parsley leaves, and a generous pinch of sea salt.  I coat the pork thoroughly with the marinade allowing bits of garlic to get inside the crevices.

The next day I take the pork out of the fridge and allow it to get to room temperature, approximately 30 – 45 minutes.  Transfer the pork, skin side down, to a baking pan.  Cover with aluminum and put in the oven.  After 1 hour, remove the aluminum foil and flip over the pork so the skin side is up.  Baste the pork with the juices at the bottom of the pan.  Keep in the oven for another hour, basting every now and then.  For the last half hour, I stop basting so that the skin can get crispy.  Cooking time for a pork shoulder weighing approximately 2 – 3 pounds should take 2 1/2 hours.

Cuban Black Beans:

Dried black beans are better for this dish.  However, for this particular recipe, I used a can of black beans.  In a large saucepan, sautee 1 small minced yellow onion and 3 minced cloves of garlic in extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle in 1 1/2 tablespoons of cumin and 1 teaspoon of sea salt.  Add the can of beans and approximately one can and a half of water.  Cover and simmer on medium to low heat for an hour.

This recipe traditionally goes with white rice.  However, since I try to limit my intake of white rice/flour/etc., I used a brown rice medley…which went perfectly well.  ;o)

I would have preferred a pinot noir for this meal…but as you can see, we drank a reisling.  Brooklyn, EAT your heart out!