Crisp pork belly with buttermilk cabbage and croutons
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 4
Crisp roast pork belly is served with charred hispi cabbage, a tangy buttermilk and herb dressing, crunchy croutons and apple sauce. The pork is rubbed with fennel seeds and left overnight before roasting for crisp crackling and tender meat.
Ingredients
For the pork belly
- 1kg/2lb 4oz bone-in pork belly, rind scored
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp salt
- 50ml/2fl oz white wine vinegar
For the vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Moscatel vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
For the cabbage
For the buttermilk dressing
- 50ml/2fl oz buttermilk
- 1 tbsp chopped mixed chives, tarragon and parsley
- 1 tbsp vinaigrette (from above)
To serve
- apple sauce
- croutons
Method
For the pork belly, grind the fennel seeds and peppercorns using a pestle and mortar. Rub the mixture into the pork and leave overnight.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Rub the salt and white wine vinegar into the pork rind. Put the pork in a roasting tin with 200ml/7fl oz water and roast for 30 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and roast for a further 2 hours, or until the pork is cooked through. Insert a skewer into the centre of the meat to check that the juices run clear with no traces of pink. Remove from the oven and leave to rest.
To make the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
For the cabbage, cut the hispi cabbage into quarters and season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cabbage and cook on all sides for 8–10 minutes, until charred and softened. Dress the cabbage with the vinaigrette while still warm, reserving 1 tablespoon for the buttermilk dressing. Set aside.
To make the buttermilk dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, remove the pork from the bone and cut into slices. Serve alongside the apple sauce and cabbage. Spoon over the buttermilk dressing and scatter over the croutons.
