Pork belly

The other weekend I cooked a social dinner for the family. We had roast pork belly with vege and gravy. This is a play on Jamie Olivers recipe and Ive yet to find one better particularly the gravy the man is a genius with gravy!

Ingredients

1 x pork belly 1.5-2kg
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
100 mls olive oil
4 carrots and or turnips peeled and halved
3 x onions peeled and quartered
sprigs of thyme and rosemary
6 whole cloves of garlic
sea salt and pepper
1 bottle of white wine or 500mls of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of flour

Heat the oven to its highest temperature

Dry fry or roast the fennel seeds then put in a mortar with the tablespoon of seas salt and bash till the seeds are mixed with the salt. Score the skin of the pork then poor over some of the olive oil and rub into the skin. Add the fennel and salt mix and rub into the skin and cracks.  

Spread the veges and herbs on the bottom of a roasting pan. Place the pork on top.  This enables the hot air to circulate around the pork. 

Place in the oven and cook for 15 mins till the skin starts to bubble.  Then turn the temperature down to 180C. Add half the bottle of wine or stock. Cook for an hour and then add the rest of the wine (bar a couple of tablespoons) and cook for another hour and half. 

Take the roast out and check that its cooked. It should come away easily and the crackling should be lovely crisp and golden. Place on a board and leave to rest.

Place the roasting dish on the stove top and heat to medium high. Add the flour and stir till thick. Add the rest of the wine or stock if too thick.  Break out the masher and mash those veges up so that they further thicken the gravy. I then put it through a sieve and serve with the pork and vege sides.

Enjoy :)