RECIPE: Slow-roast pork belly with crispy roasted potatoes

In his brand-new series Cook Like a Chef, award-winning chef Mark Moriarty invites viewers to rethink the way they cook at home.

Forget the notion that great food demands endless ingredients or hours in the kitchen. With a handful of core ingredients, a well-stocked pantry, and a few pro tips, in this series sponsored by M&S Food, Mark shows how anyone can create restaurant-worthy meals in their own kitchen.

“Cook like a chef is different in that I am treating the home kitchen like I would the restaurant. That means wasting absolutely nothing, showcasing some clever hacks and techniques that we can all add some impact to our everyday meals. As well as this I’m focusing on managing budgets and shopping efficiently while creating a wide variety of delicious food using simple ingredients we all have. This is food with maximum flavour and minimal fuss,” says Mark.

And we have some of his yummy recipes! Take a look at this delicious slow-roast pork belly with crispy roasted potatoes and a fennel and orange salad.

Slow-roast pork belly with crispy roasted potatoes and a fennel and orange salad

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1-1.2kg pork belly, de-boned with skin left on
• 100g sliced salami
• Handful chopped parsley
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Ground black pepper
• Zest of half a lemon
• 1 tin anchovies
• 8 rooster potatoes
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp polenta
• Salt
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 orange
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 50g toasted almond flakes

Method

1. To begin, preheat the oven to 130c.
2. For the pork belly, take a sharp knife and slice horizontally through the middle of the pork belly meat, about 90% of the way through, leaving the top and bottom of the pork belly attached at one end. Open it like a book.
3. Smear the bottom half of the pork belly with mustard before layering with slices of salami, anchovies, parsley, lemon zest and black pepper.
4. Fold the top of the pork belly on top, back into its original shape. Wrap in tin foil and cook for 3 hours in the oven at 130c.
5. While the pork belly is cooking, prepare the roasted potatoes. Peel and half the potatoes and place in a pot of cold water. Season the water heavily with salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer for 10 minutes until the exterior of the potato is beginning to break down. Strain the potatoes and allow to steam for 5 minutes. Place a tray in the oven with 50ml of vegetable oil and preheat to 200c. Season the potatoes with salt, pepper and 3 tbsp polenta and toss the potatoes to coat in the seasoning. Place the potatoes on the pre-heated tray and cook for 50 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until golden crispy all over.
6. Now back to the pork belly. Remove the tinfoil from the top of the pork to expose the skin, then increase the heat to 240c for 25 minutes to form crackling. Remove the pork from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
7. While the meat is resting, we can make our salad. Using a mandolin, thinly slice the fennel bulb into a bowl, being careful to protect your hands. Add the zest of half the orange to the fennel before peeling and segmenting it. Add the orange segments to the salad, leaving behind any excess juice. To make the dressing, add the olive oil, mustard, vinegar and honey to a bowl and mix. Dress the salad and garnish with toasted almonds.
8. Serve with the sliced pork belly and roast potatoes.