Roast pork belly and plums
Nici Wickes' roast pork belly and plums recipe could be the ultimate no-fuss dinner. The belly goes into the oven to roast and the plums are added near the end of cooking. The fruit’s softness and tartness are the perfect foil to the blistered crackling and fattiness of the juicy pork
Feb 26, 2017 10:45pm- Serves 6
- 2 hrs cooking
This recipe first appeared in New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
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ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 2kg pork belly – bone in
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- drizzle of olive oil
- 2 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 - 8 medium plums – halved, stone removed
- salad, to serve
method
- 1
Preheat oven to 250°C.
- 2
Ensure the pork skin is very dry (see recipe tip) and liberally sprinkle with salt. Put in an oiled oven dish. Place the dish on a medium to high oven rack and cook for 45 minutes or until the skin has popped and you have a complete layer of crackling.
- 3
Mix together the mustard, vinegar and water, then pour around the pork. Loosely cover the crackling with foil (to prevent burning).
- 4
Lower the temperature to 180°C and cook for 1 hour before adding the plums around the pork. Toss them in the pan juices to coat. Roast for 20 minutes until the plums are cooked through. Rest for 10 minutes.
- 5
Serve the pork in thick, juicy slices with the plums and a salad.
notes
Good crackling starts with dry pork skin. The best way is to leave it uncovered, skin-side up, in the fridge overnight. Failing that, pat dry with paper towels or use a blow-dryer (yes, you read that right!), before salting and cooking.