Slow roast belly of pork with spiced apple and mash

Credit: Great British Food Revival

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  3:20 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

For the pork

• 1.3 kg  (2½ lb) belly of pork, boned
• 3 onions, sliced
• pinch of sea salt
• 10 fresh sage leaves
• 1 bramley apple, grated (see Note)
• splash of cider

For the mashed potato

• 900 g peeled and quartered maris pipers (see Note)
• 100 g unsalted butter
• 120 ml double cream
• freshly ground nutmeg
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 500 g (1¼ lb) bramley apples (see Note)
• 30 g (1 oz) butter
• 1½ tbsp water
• 2 tbsp cider
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 30 g (1oz) soft dark brown sugar

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

For the pork, preheat oven to 230°C / 450°F / gas mark 4.

Arrange sliced onion in the bottom of a roasting tray.

Score belly with a sharp knife 1 cm / ½ inch apart. Placing belly skin side down, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and place 6 sage leaves along with the grated apple over the meat. Roll up belly and secure with string.

Chop remaining sage leave and scatter over onions, add cider and place meat on top. Place meat in oven for 20 mins, then turn oven down to 150°C / 300°F / gas mk 2 and cook for a further 3 hours. Once cooked and tender, allow to rest for 10 minutes.

For the mashed potatoes, place potatoes in cold salted water and bring to boil, continue for 20 minutes until tender, then drain.

Put a lid on the saucepan and shake vigorously to break up the potatoes. Gradually add the cream and butter while mashing. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.

For the sauce, peel, core and cut up the apples into equal sized chunks. Place in a pan with the butter , water, cider and spices. Cover the pan and cook over a medium heat until the apples are soft enough to beat into a puree. Add sugar and stir through. Taste, and add more sugar if necessary.

Note

• You could substitute Granny Smith apples for the bramleys and Desiree or King Edward for the maris piper potatoes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.