Roast Belly or Loin Pork with Crackling and Spiced Aubergines in the Pickling Style


Ingredients

  • 1 x 2.25kg (5lbs) belly or loin of organic free-range pork with the skin (rind) intact
  • You will most certainly need to order the joint ahead to ensure that the rind is still on - no rind - no crackling!
  • Maldon sea salt
  • Alternative seasoning: salt and freshly ground pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, chives, marjoram, savoury, perhaps very little sage or rosemary) (optional)
  • Spiced Aubergines in the Pickling Style

Preparation

Day before, brine the pork for 12 hours approx.

Remove the pork from the brine and place on a wire rack and bring to the draining board of your sink. Pour boiling water over the skin side, allow to drain completely and dry thoroughly.

Using a Stanley knife or serrated bread knife, score the skin at 5mm (1/4 inch) intervals running with the grain. This is to give you really good crackling and make it easier to carve later.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4.

Sprinkle a little salt over the rind. Pour 1cm (1/2 inch) water into a roasting tin and roast the joint on a wire rack over the roasting tin. Allow 30-35 minutes per 450g (1lb).

Alternatively put the pork, skin side down on a chopping board season with salt and black pepper, sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs. One can roll up tightly and tie with cotton string if desired but I prefer to roast as it is. Serve with Spiced Aubergines (see recipe).

Serves 6-8

Basic Overnight Brine (approx. 12 hours)

Brining greatly enhances the flavour of chicken, duck or pork. We brine whole turkeys (48 hours), chickens and ducks (16-18 hours), chicken breast (30-40 minutes depending on size) and pork (12 hours).

Soak the bird or joint in a brine mixture of salt and water. The electrically charged ions of the salt plump up the muscle fibres, allowing them to absorb water. This changes the structure of the proteins, preventing the water from escaping during cooking. In addition to keeping the meat moist, the salt intensifies flavour.

To make a basic brine, mix together 30g (1 1/4oz) salt to 1 litre (1 3/4 pints) of water in a suitable size container with a cover (stainless steel, plastic or enamel are ideal). A little sugar may be added to the brine, even a few spices. Stir the salt with a wooden spoon or clean hand in cold tap water to dissolve completely. Add the bird or joint (it should be submerged in the water), cover and chill in a refrigerator or keep in a cool place and brine for chosen time.

Spiced Aubergines in the Pickling Style

  • 500g (1lb 2oz) aubergines
  • 250ml (9fl oz) approximate extra virgin olive oil
  • 2.5cm (1 inch) cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 6 large cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely crushed
  • 50ml (2fl oz) water
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
  • 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
  • 350g (12oz) very ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped or 1 x 400g (14oz) tin tomatoes + 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground coriander seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like)
  • sea salt
  • 25-50g (1-2oz) raisins

Cut the aubergine into 2cm (3/4 inch) thick slices. Heat 175ml (6fl oz) of oil in a deep 25-30cm (10-12 inch) frying pan. When hot, almost smoking, add a few aubergine slices and cook until golden and tender on both sides. Remove and drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the aubergines, adding more oil if necessary. Alternatively brush generously with extra virgin olive oil and cook on a hot pan-grill.

Put the ginger, garlic and water into a blender. Blend until fairly smooth.

Heat 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the frying pan. When hot, add the fennel and cumin seeds, (careful not to let them burn). Stir for just a few seconds then put in the chopped tomato, the ginger-garlic mixture, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the spice mixture thickens slightly, 5-6 minutes.

Add the fried aubergine slices and raisins, and coat gently with the spicy sauce. Cover the pan, turn the heat to very low and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Serve warm.

The spiced aubergine mixture is also good served cold or at room temperature as an accompaniment to hot or cold lamb or pork.

Serves 6

Roast Belly or Loin of Pork with Verjuice and Seville Orange Marmalade Glaze

I like to serve this pork with a dark green vegetable such as spinach or Swiss chard. Any of the broccolis are good as are green beans during the summer months.

Roast Pork

Ingredients

  • 1 large clove of garlic crushed
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
  • 115g (generous 4oz) Seville orange marmalade
  • 2 tablespoons verjuice (or lemon juice)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2kg (4 1/2lb) belly or loin of pork with skin removed
  • 1 tablespoon of freshly cracked pepper and Maldon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 120°C/Gas Mark 1/2.

Mix the garlic, ginger, marmalade, verjuice, olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt to make a paste.

Place the pork on a roasting tray and season with salt and pepper. Pour the glaze over the pork and place in the preheated oven. Roast the belly for c 3 hours or if using loin for approximately 2 hours. I baste the pork with the glaze 3 or 4 times during the cooking.

The glaze should be a rich and lightly caramelised colour by the time the pork is cooked and tender. If not sufficiently coloured, increase the oven temperature to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 to colour the meat for the final 20 minutes of cooking.

Serve the pork sliced with lots of the cooking juices and a green vegetable of the season.

Serves 8 -10

Grilled Pork Burger with Fennel and Pistachios served with Apple and Plum or Damson Sauce

These burgers are sweet and delicious. Belly or shoulder of pork is best here as you are generally guaranteed a decent amount of fat from those two cuts, and fat is essential for a good burger.

If the meat you are using is too lean the burgers will be dry, hard and lacking in flavour. The other crucial point to remember for any kind of minced meat dish is that the mince needs to be really fresh, so minced on the same day you are going to cook and eat them.

Minced meat deteriorates faster than any other prepared meat, hence freshness is paramount. Aromatic roast fennel seeds work beautifully here as they do with almost any cut of pork and the pistachio nuts add their own magical flavour and texture. I serve these with various different dishes.

A plain mashed potato is good as is the courgette and marjoram mash. They also sit happily with a tomato stew or sauce. A Bramley apple sauce or the version with plums is also good here. Cook these burgers fully, this is not the time for a rare burger

Serves 6 as a main course

  • 700g (1 1/2lb) minced streaky or shoulder of pork
  • 2 cloves of garlic crushed
  • 1-2 chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon of fennel seeds, roasted and ground
  • 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
  • 40g (1 1/2oz) pistachio nuts, shells removed and coarsely chopped
  • Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients together. Fry a teaspoon of the mixture to check seasoning. Adjust as necessary. Form the mixture into burgers, either 4 large or 8 small, and chill until ready to cook. Heat a heavy grill pan until quite hot. Grease the burgers lightly with olive oil and place on the hot grill to cook. Allow to become golden brown on one side before turning. Control the heat carefully and cook the burgers, turning occasionally until fully cooked through. This takes about 15 minutes, and the burgers will feel firm to the touch.

Serve the burgers on hot plates with Bramley Apple and Plum Sauce and a vegetable of choice.

Bramley Apple and Plum or Damson Sauce

Ingredients

  • 450g (1lb) Bramley apples
  • 4 plums or damsons
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water

Peel, quarter and core the apples. Cut each quarter in half. Place in a small saucepan with the sugar and water. Quarter the plums and remove the stones and add to the apples. Cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and cook on a very low heat. The apples and plums will collapse to a frothy fluff. Allow to cool a little and then if you wish, lift the skins off the pieces of plum – it is not essential to do this. Stir well to mix the apples and the plums and taste and if necessary, add another pinch of sugar.