Ingredients
PORK BELLY
- 1.5-2kg Pork Belly
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
PICKLED APPLE
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red apple, core removed, halved, thinly sliced
- Parsley to serve
BRAISED POTATOES
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, cut into thin wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 650g potatoes, washed, cut into 8 wedges
- 2 small sprigs rosemary
- 15 sage leaves
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
- Fresh herbs to serve (we used basil and parsley)
Method:
The night before you are to cook the pork, remove it from its packaging, put into a dish, dry with a paper towel then put into the fridge uncovered so that the skin dries out. This makes getting better crackling much easier - so don’t skip this step!Pre-heat the oven to 140°C. Rub the oil over both sides of the pork, sprinkle the salt over the skin then put into a roasting dish (skin side up). The more snug the fit the better, as the juices and fat that is rendered as it cooks, will help keep the meat moist. Put into the oven and roast for 3 hours then turn up the heat to 240°C and roast for a further 30 minutes until the skin has puffed up and is crispy. Keep a good eye on it as it cooks to ensure it doesn’t burn. If you are struggling to get it to crackle then you can turn on the grill and finish it off this way. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a serving plate.
For the pickled apple - put the vinegar and the maple syrup into a small bowl and mix. Then add in the red onion and apple, season with sea salt and mix again. Scatter with parsley before serving.
For the braised potatoes heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook the onions and garlic until soft and translucent. Add in the potatoes and cook for 4 minutes before adding in the herbs and the stock. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid (we used the lid off our stock pot which is slightly too small but did the job!) and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes until the potatoes are cooked, and the liquid reduced. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then scatter with herbs and serve alongside the pickled onion and the pork.
