Oh my gosh,when I think of pork belly roast, or any other scrummy pork roast, it always takes me back to India…
Strange, you might think, as that is the last thing you’d ever find in India!
My dear friend Jemima (who was also an expat living in India at that time) would always go on about how she’s craving a good old pork belly roast – and then of course I would be craving it too! Thanks a bunch…
You could find beef on the ‘black market’ {seriously!!}, but not pork, nope, no how, no way… Although, come to think of it, I’m sure we had some Chinese sweet ‘n sour pork from the local Chinese take-out. Hmmm…
Ok, anyways – fact is – you would NOT find a pork roast anywhere and if you did, it would not be what you were craving.
So, I bought a lovely piece of pork belly the other day, just over a kilo, and here’s what I did with it:
I made a rub using the following ingredients:
A handful of fresh sage leaves
2 Tsp toasted whole coriander seeds {simply toast in a dry, hot pan}
1 Tsp toasted mustard seeds
Lemon zest and juice of 1 small lemon
3 cloves of garlic
Glug of olive oil
1 Tbs course pink salt
Using a pestle & mortar, grind it all together to form a rough paste.
Rub it all over the pork belly, after scouring the skin, making sure it’s properly covered with the rub.
Let it marinade for an hour so before cooking.
When you’re ready to cook, add 1 cup of chicken stock to the casserole / roasting dish and a splash of dry white wine.
Cook at 160C, covered, for an hour and a half.
After an hour and a half, set the oven to grill, sprinkle with some more salt and grill for about half an hour until the skin is golden and ‘crackling’.
Serve it with creamy brocco-mash or a lovely green salad.
x
