Roast Pork Belly

, from Issue #47. August, 2015
Photography by Aaron McLean.
Roast Pork Belly

There’s no getting away from the fact that pork belly is delicious but also very rich. Offset that by accompanying it with the sweet/tart flavours of the apple salsa verde.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

1½-2 kilogram piece boneless pork belly, skin on
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced

METHOD

Preheat the oven to its highest temperature.

Score the skin at 1 cm intervals using a very sharp knife.

Place the onion and carrot in a single layer in a shallow roasting dish. Season the flesh of the pork and place skin side up over the vegetables. Rub the skin with a little olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Pour in enough water to just cover the vegetables. Don’t pour the water over the pork. Roast for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven to 150˚C.

Roast the pork for another 1 hour, adding more water to the base of the dish if it starts to dry out. The pork should be really tender and a thin skewer inserted between the crackling should easily slip through.

If the crackling has not crisped enough, turn the oven to grill and cook for a few minutes but watch carefully as it can burn quickly.

To serve: Carve the meat between the crackling and serve with the Apple and Tarragon Salsa Verde

Menu:  Serve with Gnocchi Alla Romana, Fennel, Radicchio and Apple Salad with Red Wine Dressing and finish with Espresso Flans.