Ingredients: (Serves 6)
1.5kg pork belly, skin on and scored – make sure pork is hormone-free and free from antibiotics
5 large cloves of garlic, crushed
30ml (2 Tbs) fennel seeds, lightly crushed
5ml (1 tsp) cumin seeds, lightly crushed
15ml (1 Tbs) coconut oil
180ml dry white wine
3 sprigs fresh thyme – stems discarded
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Open up the pork belly on a large wooden chopping board. Mix the garlic, fennel, cumin seeds and olive oil and rub the mixture all over the flesh of the belly. Turn the belly over and generously sprinkle over the coconut oil and salt all over the top to dry out the pork skin. Preheat oven to 230 degrees celsius.
Brush the excess salt from the top of the pork and transfer the meat to a large, heavy duty roasting pan. Place in the oven at 230˚C degrees and roast for 30 minutes until a hard crackling has formed. Turn the oven down to 190 and cook for a further 2 – 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is soft and tender. Remove from the oven and leave to rest by loosely covering with foil for 15 minutes.
Prepare a delicious gravy by pouring off any excess oil and then placing the roasting pan on top of the stove. Stir in the wine to deglaze the pan and simmer for a couple of minutes to reduce and thicken. Stir in the fresh thyme and season to taste. Serve with oven roasted veggies – delish kapish!
