How to Cook Roast Belly Pork with roasted vegetables

Pork is probably my favourite meat. I know it can be fatty, but it is so full of wonderful flavour. They always say that you can use every bit of a pig apart from its ‘oink’, my butcher never has any ‘oink’ in stock so I don’t know about that. I love to make my own brawn from pig’s cheek and trotters, and although cooking the head is a bit messy, it’s always rewarding and you can make brilliant stock at the same time.

Today’s choice is again a very low cost meal. Ask your friendly butcher for thick end of belly, you can get it on or off the bone. Pork loin has become the most popular cut of pork in recent years and I can understand that, but belly can be just as good and usually has better crackling.

I roast my potatoes, carrots, onions in the same roasting tin. Put them in the tin with a drizzle of olive oil or a knob of goose grease and lay your meat on top.

Takes about 2 hours

What you need?

About 900g (2lb) Piece of belly pork – boneless or bone in

fresh or dried sage, ground coriander, garlic and ginger powder.

Oil and goose grease.

Salt

Apple sauce:

2 Cooking apples, cored, peeled and sliced

1 Eating apple, cored and sliced

30ml (2tbsp) Brown sugar

Splash apple juice or ginger beer

What you do?

Preheat oven to Gas 4-5, 180ºC, 350ºF.

Take the flat piece of belly, dry the rind, and score deeply with a sharp knife.

Rub the rind all over with the ground spices, salt and goose grease.

Line a shallow roasting pan with foil. Place your vegetables flat in the bottom with a splash of olive oil, and then lay your joint over them. Tuck the foil around the joint.

Open roast for about 2 hours.

When cooked allow the belly to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For the apple sauce: Place all ingredients into a small pan with lid. Simmer with lid on for about 10 minutes until cooking apples are fluffy. Mix well together and put to one side.

Serve the pork cut into thick chunks with apple sauce, roasted vegetables and creamy mash potato.