Excite your tastebuds with this unique pork belly recipe using pickled grapes and crushed kumara. Pat dry the pork belly with a paper towel and leave uncovered in the fridge one day before cooking to help with the cooking process.
Ingredients
- 4 large onions, unpeeled, cut crossways into three slices
- 2 x 2.5 kg pieces boneless pork belly, rind scored, patted dry
- 250 ml chicken stock
- 250 ml water
- 160 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ tbsps sea salt
- 3 kg baby kumara (orange sweet potato), peeled, chopped coarsely
Pickled Grapes
- 250 ml red wine vinegar
- 110 g caster sugar
- 2 star anise
- 700 g red graps, cut into small clusters
- 1 small red onion, halved, sliced thinly
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsps fresh chives, chopped finely
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped finely
Steps
Make pickled grapes a day ahead. Stir vinegar, sugar and star anise in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Reduce heat; simmer 1 min. Add grapes; simmer 1 min. Cool.
Refrigerate, covered, overnight. Strain grapes, reserving ¼ cup pickling liquid. Combine grapes with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 240 C.
Divide onions between two large roasting pans; place pork, rind-side up, on onions. Divide stock and the water between pans, avoiding the pork. Rub 1 tablespoon of oil and half the salt onto the rind of each piece of pork.
Roast pork for 40 mins or until rind starts to crackle. Reduce oven to 160 C; roast a further 2½ hours, swapping pans halfway through cooking time, until pork is tender. (If the rind needs more crackling, increase the oven to 240 C and cook until crackled.) Rest pork, uncovered, for 20 mins.
Meanwhile, cook kumara in two large saucepans of boiling water for 20 mins or until tender; drain well. Return all kumara to one pan with ¼ cup of the oil; season to taste. Crush roughly with a potato masher. Cover to keep warm.
Combine herbs, remaining oil and reserved grape pickling liquid in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon kumara into a serving dish; drizzle with herb grape liquid mixture.
Serve sliced pork and crackling with pan juices, crushed kumara and pickled grapes.
Recipe & Photo: The Australian Women’s Weekly/BauerSyndication.com.au