EASY peasy PORK BELLY

THE RECIPE

Many people are intimidated by the thought of cooking pork belly. But, slow roasted for Sunday lunch, perfectly cooked pork belly yields beautiful soft flesh and crisp crackling and is always worth the wait. It is really not difficult, give it a try! Serves 6.

INGREDIENTS:

1kg Piece of Pork Belly
6 tbsp Olive oil
3 Large red onions, cut into eights
4 Large Potatoes, cut into wedges
4 Garlic gloves, finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp Fresh Thyme
600ml Vegetable stock
300ml Cider
250g Mushrooms, halved
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper

Steamed Broccoli to serve



METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7. Score the skin of the pork belly deeply, making sure to pierce the tough skin but not cut into the meat below (you can always ask your butcher to do this for you). Rub the salt and 2 tbsp of the olive oil into the skin, transfer to a baking tray and place it in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the skin has crisped up (the crackling).

While the pork is roasting, heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and potatoes and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cider and cook for 2 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a large baking dish, add the garlic, thyme, vegetable stock and ground black pepper and combine well. Remove the pork belly from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3. Nestle the pork belly in the mixture, ensuring the crackling is not covered and roast in the oven for 1.5 hours.

Steam the broccoli.

Allow the pork belly to rest for 10 minutes.

TO SERVE:

Cut the pork and place on each plate with onions, potatoes, mushrooms and steamed broccoli. Drizzle some of the roasting juices over and around the dish. Serve immediately and enjoy....