Busy mum's midweek dinner..... pork belly secrets

Slow roasted pork belly with refreshing apple & fennel salad

The perfect dinner when you know will you be busy and want something warm and satisfying. Less than 10 minutes prep is rewarded by 2 hours of glorious kitchen smells and then a scrumptious dinner.

The secret is in those Sichuan peppercorns and yes, you need all those peppercorns.

Pork belly is very rich so I like to serve this dish with a fresh, crisp salad of apple, fennel and rocket. And oven roasted potatoes if the family is hungry. If you like pork belly you will love this meal.

Ingredients:

1 kg (2 lb) pork belly (try find a less fatty one)

4cm ginger, sliced

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 star anise

1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed

2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed

Water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180”c (350”F)

Place pork belly in casserole pot with a tight fitting lid.

Add all other ingredients and enough water to just cover.

Put in preheated oven with lid on for 2 hours.

After 2 hours remove pork and cut into 2cm (3/4 in) slices. Return to casserole and cook for further 45-60 minutes with lid off.

You will know it is done when the pork is very tender and beginning to brown.

I found this recipe in Every Day in the Kitchen (Allan Campion & Michele Curtis), called simply “the pork dish”, and it is a firm family favourite. Left-over’s make delicious sandwiches, but sadly there never are any.

I am so excited, the crisp salad of apple, fennel and rocket is being featured in the first addition of Snowed in Magazine which will be launched on 15th November. This magazine is the latest creative venture of Ashley Pahl of She Makes a Home. Ashley writes a wonderful blog that is one of my favourite reads. It is full of considered thoughts on her life as a mom and creative business woman, her wonderful card designs (that are sold on Etsy), her favourite recipes and inspirations.
I will remind you when it is launched. I can't wait to see it especially as Ashley has accepted three of my submissions and I can't wait to find out if they make the final cut and how they look in print!!! (Inelegant squeaks of excitement)