Lunch/Dinner Rolled Pork Belly with Fennel & Sage

Serves : 4

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 hours 5 minutes plus resting time

Rolled Pork Belly with Fennel & Sage

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg rolled pork belly, scored at 1cm intervals
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 ½ tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • small bunch of sage, finely chopped
  • small bunch thyme leaves, finely chopped plus extra leaves to garnish
  • sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 shallots, peeled and halved
  • 6 Braeburn apples, halved horizontally

For the gravy

  • ½ tbsp plain flour
  • 300ml hot vegetable stock and/or hot vegetable water
  • 150ml dry cider
  • sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Remove the pork from the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the oven 220°C/200°C fan/Gas Mark 7.

  2. Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Add the shallot, garlic and chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the fennel continue stirring for a further 1 min. Allow to cool then stir in the sage and thyme and season.

  3. Remove the butchers´ string from the pork belly. Place the pork skin side down on a chopping board. Spread the herb mixture all over the flesh. Roll the meat up and tie with butchers´ string at regular intervals.

  4. Place the pork in a roasting tin. Rub the skin with salt pushing the salt in to the scored lines. Remove any excess salt and any moisture off the skin. Sprinkle with pepper.

  5. Place the pork in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 190°C/170°C fan/Gas Mark 5 and roast for a further 1hour 30 minutes, or when a probe thermometer reaches 75°C-77°C in the thickest part of the joint. Place the shallots and apples, cut side up around the pork 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Baste with the juices from the pan.

  6. Remove the pork from the oven. If the crackling is not crispy enough turn the oven up to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas Mark 7. Remove the shallots and apples from the roasting tin, cover and keep warm on a warmed serving plate. Cook the pork for a further 5-10 minutes or until crisp.

  7. Place the pork on the warmed serving plate with the shallots and apples. Scatter over the thyme leaves. Cover and allow to rest while you make the gravy.

  8. To make the gravy, pour off all but 1 tbsp of fat from the roasting tin. Place the tin on a medium heat add the flour and stir for 1 min. Slowly add the stock and/or hot vegetable water and cider. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Season to taste.

  9. Remove the crackling from the pork and break in to pieces. Serve straight away with pieces of crackling, slices of pork, shallots, apples and gravy.

Tip

Remove the pork from the outer packaging. Place on a plate and store in the fridge uncovered, for a couple of hours and ideally overnight. This will produce better crackling.

Perfect with Blossom Hill Pinot Grigio