Its simple and tasty. The meat can be put on automatic in the oven for people with a busy lifestyle.
Ingredients
| 1 kg | Pork belly, skin on. (Main) |
| 2 | Apples, peeled, cored and sliced |
| 1 bottle | Apple cider, You may need another bottle depends on the brand |
| 1 drizzle | Olive oil |
| 1 sprinkle | Salt |
| 1 | Tinfoil |
Spring Salad
| 1 head | Baby cos lettuce, Shredded |
| ½ | Telegraph cucumbers, Cubed |
| ½ punnet | Yellow cherry tomatoes, Sliced in half |
| 1 | Mango, Slice the mango into 2 'cheeks' either side of the stone. Peel and cube. |
Salad Dressing
| ¼ cup | Verjuice |
| 2 tsp | seeded mustard |
| ¼ cup | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 | Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste |
| ½ block | Haloumi cheese, cubed |
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 145 degrees fan forced.
- When buying the pork belly, ensure the butcher has scored the skin. If they haven't then using a stanly knife (very carefully) or sharp knife, slice through the skin to the fat layer but not into the meant in even strips.
- Pour boiling water over the pork belly skin, then pat dry thoroughly. This helps it crisp.
- Rub the dried pork belly skin with salt, putting the salt on first helps absorb any moisture from the skin. Oil the skin with olive oil and add a little more salt if required.
- Oil a casserole dish that just fits the pork belly with about 2cm around the sides of the pork belly.
- Lay a good thick later of apple on the bottom of the casserole, then place the pork belly on the apple. Pack remaining apples around the 4 sides of the pork belly.
- Pour in sufficient apple cider to reach just under the pork belly skin, you might need to monitor this to ensure the cider doesn't evaporate away, if the level is dropping too low then turn the oven down a little and top up the cider.
- Pop in the heated oven for 3 hours, or if putting on automatic allow another 15 minutes for the oven to come up to heat.
- The meat should be extremely tender when cooked and the skin still dry. Place foil around the pork belly to stop the apples burning, turn the oven to grill and crackle the skin, make sure you don't burn it. Set aside the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
- Strain the apples from the meat juice but retain a little bit of the juice, stick blend the fruit till a fine sauce forms, add a little meat juice or apple cider to thin if required.
- Stir fry the cubed Haloumi in olive oil till crisp. Set aside to cool.
- Assemble the salad by laying onto flat plate the ingredients as lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, mango and finally the cubed crisp Haloumi.
- Stick blend all the dressing ingredients and drizzle in a zig zag pattern over the top of the salad.
