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Cooking Clever - Fab food for tough times No. 42

Tummy tuck

Pork belly has become almost ubiquitous on restaurant menus, and no wonder – it packs a huge amount of flavour for not a whole lot of money. It's not complicated to cook at home, either: source your pork from a free-range or organic supplier for superb quality and extra-delicious eating. Slow cooking is the key, writes Katy McGuinness

Roast pork belly with red plum, ginger and rhubarb relish Cost: €35

Southern barbecued pork belly Cost: €23

Crisp belly of pork with lentils and Granny Smith apple purée Cost: €24

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Roast pork belly with red plum, ginger and rhubarb relish Cost: €35

from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

Serves 6-8

1 bunch thyme, roughly chopped
1 bunch rosemary, roughly chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
150 ml olive oil
1 piece pork belly, weighing 2-3 kg
1 bottle white wine
Coarse sea salt and black pepper

For the relish
5 red plums
1 red chilli, halved and seeded
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
100ml red wine vinegar
200g caster sugar
4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 3cm lengths

Small knob of fresh ginger, peeled, very thinly sliced and cut into tiny strips

HEAT THE OVEN TO 250°C/gas 10 or your oven's highest setting. Place the herbs, garlic and olive oil in a heavy duty blender or food processor and puree them roughly. Lay the pork belly in an oven tray, skin-side down, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Use your hands to spread the herb mixture evenly all over the top, pressing it on so it sticks to the meat. Turn the belly skin-side up, wipe the skin dry with kitchen paper and sprinkle sea salt evenly all over the skin. Put the tray in the oven and roast for one hour, turning the tray around every 20 minutes. Once the skin has formed some crackling, turn the oven down to 170°C Gas 3, pour the white wine into the tray (avoiding the skin) and continue roasting for another hour. If the belly starts turning black, cover with foil. For the last cooking stage, turn the oven down to 110°C/Gas ¼ and continue roasting for another hour, until the skin has crackled completely and thoroughly dried. Remove the pork from the oven. Use a sharp knife to divide it into segments of a few ribs, cutting between the rib bones. Serve with relish on the side, rice and some sautéed pak choi.

Relish: Heat the oven to 150°C/ Gas 2. Place the plums and chilli in a heavy-based saucepan and add the cinnamon, star anise, vinegar and half the sugar. Stir well, bringing to a light boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming any froth from the surface if necessary. The plums should have a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. While the plums are simmering away, place the rhubarb, ginger and remaining sugar in an oven-proof dish. Rub them together with your hands and place in the oven. Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the rhubarb is tender. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Combine the plums and rhubarb and mix well, remove the chilli, then transfer to a jar and leave to cool. Either serve the relish straight away with the pork or store in the fridge, where it will keep for a week or two.

Southern barbecued pork belly Cost: €23

A Jamie Oliver recipe

Serves 6-8

Handful of fresh bay leaves
2 teaspoons rock salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2kg pork belly in one piece, skin removed
olive oil
2 fresh red chilies, deseeded and finely chopped
a small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped

Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas 4. Bash the bay leaves and salt in a pestle and mortar until the leaves disintegrate and the salt turns green. Pick out any strands then add the rest of the spices and pepper and mix well. Rub the pork with the spice mix and a little olive oil. Transfer to a snug-fitting roasting tray and cover the tray tightly with foil. Cook in the preheated oven for 2 hours. Light your barbie after the pork has had 1 hour in the oven. After 2 hours, your pork should be tender and flavoured with all the wonderful spices. Lift it out of the roasting tray with tongs and drop it straight on to the barbie. It will crackle and drip fat on to the coals so don't worry if you see a few flames. Turn the pork over and move it around the grill now and then for 10 to 15 minutes to crisp up the surface. Serve in thick slices scattered with fresh chili, coriander and a few slugs of olive oil.

Crisp belly of pork with lentils and Granny Smith apple purée Cost: €24

From Today's Special: Anthony Demetre

Serves 4-6

1 pork belly, about 1.5kg
1 quantity brine (see below)
2 heads garlic
2 sprigs thyme
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Lentils
25g butter
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, strings removed and diced
300g puy lentils

For the Granny Smith Apple Purée
4 Granny Smith apples
25g butter

The day before, using a craft knife, slash the pork rind into 1cm strips, making sure that you do not penetrate the meat. Place in the cooled brine for one day. This flavours the meat and helps reduce water from the fat and rind, making for crispier crackling. Next day, take the pork from the brine, place in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil, and lift out the pork and leave to cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas 3. Place garlic and thyme on base of a roasting tray, put the pork on top, rind side up and liberally drizzle with olive oil and salt. Pour 2cm of water into the tray, put in the preheated oven and roast for 1½-2 hours, topping up with water now and again to stop it drying out. When cooked, take from the oven and leave to cool down. Pour off all the juices and reserve. Place a tray or board on top of the pork and apply 3-4 plates to press and reshape the pork in order to obtain a nice flat appearance. To cook the lentils, melt the butter in a large heavy-based pan and lightly sweat the diced vegetables in it. Add the lentils and reserved juices from the pork. Top up with water to cover plus 2.5cm, bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are cooked, about 30 minutes.

Apple purée: peel, core and chop the apples. Put in a stainless steel pan with the butter, cover and cook over a low heat until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Crush or blend to a paste. Serve the pork carved thickly with the puree and lentils. Brine: 200g sugar, 200g salt, 20g saltpetre, 2 juniper berries, 1 bay leaf, 10 white peppercorns. Put the ingredients in a large pan with 2 litres of water. Bring to the boil, skim and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

NEXT WEEK: Three great puddings