Hygge, the Danish art of contentment, coziness, and connection, is easy to achieve at the dinner table—especially when you have a meal like this bay leaf– and clove-studded roasted pork loin with cracklings over root vegetables. It’s from the Copenhagen kitchen of chef Trine Hahnemann, who is sort of the Ina Garten of Denmark, and it will make even the coldest winter nights feel warm and cozy.
Also see: During Denmark’s Dark and Hungry Winter, Hygge Is More Than a Cozy Sweater
6-8 Serves
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Slice the lemon and cut the garlic in half. Mix the lemon, garlic, and thyme together and place in a roasting tin. Rub the pork with salt and pepper and place on top. Push the cloves and bay leaves into the scored skin incisions and pour half the water into the tin. Roast for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and onion. Halve the potatoes and onion, leaving the skin on. Take the roasting tin out of the oven and place the potatoes and onions around the pork, mixing the fat that has run off the pork into the vegetables. Pour in the remaining water and roast a further 45-50 minutes. Check the internal temperature. A thermometer should read around 143°F at the thickest part of the roast; continue roasting if it has not reached that temperature. Leave to rest out of the oven for about 15 minutes before carving, keeping the vegetables warm.
- Arrange the pork in slices on one big platter, with bones on the side, the crackling on top, and the potatoes and onions alongside. Velbekomme!
Recipe courtesy of Scandinavian Comfort Food: Embracing the Art of Hygge by Trine Hahnemann, Quadrille Publishing, copyright 2016
Kristin Iversen
Kristin Iversen is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn. She's the digital deputy editor at Nylon and is very appreciative of the myriad lunch options near her office, though she also wishes she more often remembered to bring lunch from home.