Do you like Pork Belly?

We love it.  It is not, however, something you would eat every day.  There is a lot of fat in a pork belly and we are trying to watch our waistline.  I have cooked this recipe several times and it has always been delicious so I thought I would share it with you.  I served this with Cauliflower Puree (much lighter than mashed potato) and 2 bunches of Asparagus that I tossed with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp grated parmesan and 2 tsp lemon zest.

ROLLED PORK BELLY WITH ALMOND AND CRANBERRY STUFFING

(recipe from Tom Niall on Everyday Gourmet)

Ingredients:

1.1kg Pork Belly, scored

1 tbsp olive oil

salt, pepper

1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup dried cranberries roughly chopped

2 tbsps orange juice

2 tbsps fresh parsley, finely chopped

25g butter, cubed

Directions:

Season pork belly skin liberally with salt.  Put into fridge for an hour or two, uncovered, or ideally up to 24 hours.  

Meanwhile mix together almond meal, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, parsley, butter, juice, salt and pepper to form a dough like consistency and refrigerate till needed.

Preheat over to 230 degrees.

Remove pork belly from fridge and wipe off any excess moisture.  Stuff and roll pork belly and tie off every inch.

Place pork onto trivet in roasting pan and roast for 30 mins or until rind is browning and starting to crackle.

Reduce heat to 160 degrees and roast for a further 1 hour.  Turn oven back up to 230 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the crackling is crispy.

Remove the pork belly from the oven and rest for 10-15 mins before serving.

Straight out of the oven

Leftovers for tomorrows lunch

The cauliflower simmering(uncovered) in milk before blitzing the whole lot.

Asparagus ready for plunging into boiling water for 2 minutes only and then tossed in the olive oil mixture

I really must take some lessons in food styling.  Fortunately it tasted better than this photo looks!