Pork belly with spiced apple compote

Serves:

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1kg piece pork belly, skin scored
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 25g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 eschalot, finely diced
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 240°C (220°C fan-forced). Rub salt into skin of pork belly and place in a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes until skin starts to bubble and crackle. Reduce heat to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and cook for a further hour until succulent and tender.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter with oil over gentle heat. Cook eschalot for 4 minutes until soft, being careful not to brown. Cut apples into quarters and then each quarter into 3 or 4 wedges. Add to eschalot with spices and sugar. Add 1/2 cup water, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes until apple has softened.

Cut pork into thick slices and serve with the apple compote on the side.

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• Roast pork with fennel
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• Roast pork with baked apples, potatoes and garlic
• Roasted vegetables with chives

Serving Suggestions

Note

• For extra crunchy crackling, boost oven temperature to its highest setting for the last 10 minutes of cooking time, but be careful not to let it burn.
• Any type of cooking apple would be fine in this recipe.
• Recipe by Greer Worsley, who blogs at Typically Red.