A Family That Eats Together: Slow Roasted Tuscan Pork Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions and Peppers

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features arancini with salad, rocket pesto with linguini, lemon and feta roasted chicken with tomato orzo, Thai chicken noodle salad, and this slow-roasted Tuscan pork sandwich with caramelized onions and peppers.

On Sundays, I always feel like I have more time to cook, but I really appreciate cooking on the weekends when the oven does most of the work. I usually start this pork right after lunch and by dinner everything is ready to go. It is super simple to make and the smell from your kitchen windows will bring all your neighbors over wondering what you are cooking inside. This slow roasted pork brings back memories of sitting in the warm Tuscan sun on a lazy weekend afternoon slowing soaking up the sweet air filled with fennel and floral spices.

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours

Ingredients

for the pork

• 1 3-pound pork shoulder (aka pork butt)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil

for the vegetables

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

extra

• 1 loaf of fresh ciabatta bread, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
2. Mash the garlic, sage, rosemary, fennel seeds, salt, pepper and oil in a mortar and pestle or food processor.
3. Slice 4-inch long deep slits all around the pork and stuff the slits with the herb mixture. Place the pork skin side up on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Cook for 5 hours.
4. During the fourth hour of the pork cooking, heat a large skillet with the oil. Over medium-low heat add the onions and peppers with the salt. SLOWLY cook by letting them sit in the pan until they start looking slightly browned. Approximately 7–10 minutes. Stir in the sugar. Continue to stir them every once and awhile watching them turn a caramelized brown, approximately 20 minutes. Don’t let them burn.
5. Remove the pork from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes. Trim fat and slice.
6. Heat a grill to high. Lightly dunk the slices of bread in the pan drippings. Place the bread on a hot grill until the bread has light grill marks.
7. Assemble the sandwich with the pork, onions and peppers. My son prefers to eat all the components separately so I serve it to him that way.