Pork belly with apple and fennel

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Ingredients

1 T fennel seeds
4 t thyme leaves
1 t fresh rosemary leaves
3 lemons, zested
1 T fine salt
1 t black pepper
vegetable or olive oil
1 x 2 kg skin-on pork belly , scored
2 heads garlic
10–12 baby onions, peeled
6 large bulbs fennel
6 apples
Dijon mustard, for serving
creamy mashed potatoes, for serving

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Mix the fennel seeds, herbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Rub the meat all over with a little oil and a generous amount of this seasoning.

2. Place the meat in a roasting tray in the oven for about 1 hour, reducing the heat to 200˚C after 15 minutes. After an hour, check the pork. The skin should be starting to colour and crisp up.

3. Cut the garlic, onions and fennel bulbs in half and arrange around the meat in the roasting tray. Spoon the pan juices over the veggies and return to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C and roast for a further 30 minutes.

4. Peel and core the apples, then cut into quarters. Add to the ingredients in the roasting tray, spooning more of the pan juices over everything. Cook for a final 30 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven. The skin should be crisp and crackling, the meat cooked through and the veggies and apple caramelised and soft. Remove the meat from the pan and allow to rest for a few minutes. Skim off excess fat, if necessary.

6. Slice the meat along the score lines and serve with the apple, vegetables, Dijon mustard and creamy mash.

Find more pork recipes here.

Photographs: Craig Fraser
Production: Caroline Gardner

This recipe is an extract from Oink! The Perfect Pork Cookbook, published by Quivertree Publications and available at all good book stores.