Crispy pork belly with
roasted vegetables
Roast pork belly is one of our Sunday lunch favourites. It's
incredibly tasty and great value for money, especially
when compared with other roastingjoints. You don't even
need to worry about basting the meat during roasting-
its crispy fat layer does this for you. Accompany with roast
potatoes (see page 247).Preheat the oven to its highest setting. Pat the pork belly dry with
kitchen paper, then score the rind at 5mm intervals using a sharp knife
(or clean Stanley knife). Rub all over the rind and into the cuts with
the caraway seeds and some salt and pepper.
Put the pork belly, skin side up, into a lightly oiled, large roasting tin
and roast on t~ +op shelf ofthe oven for 20-25 minutes until the skin
starts to blister d crispen, then lower the oven setting to 1700Cl
Gas 3 and roast for d further hour.Remove from the oven and spoon off most the rendered fat in the tin,
leaving behind about 2 tbsp. Scatter the vegetables and thyme around
the pork, toss them in the fat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return
to the oven for another hour or until the vegetables and pork are
tender when pierced with a knife.
If the crackling is not sufficiently crisp at the end of cooking, transfer
the vegetables to a warm plate and place the pork under a hot grill
until golden brown and crisp, but don't leave it unattended as the rind
can easily catch. Cover the pork loosely with foil and leave to rest for
15 minutes in a warm place.
To serve, transfer the pork to a warm platter and arrange the roast
vegetables around it.
SERVES 4-6
2kg pork belly with rind
and ribs
1 tsp caraway seeds
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil, to oil the tin
2 medium turnips, cut
into wedges (unpeeled)
4 banana shallots,
halved lengthways
(unpeeled)
1 large red onion,
quartered (unpeeled)
150g baby fennel
150g Chantenay, or baby,
carrots
few thyme sprigsWEEKEND ROASTS 195