Crumbs!

Crispy Skinned Pork Belly With Apple And Onion Veloute

Ingredients
5 garlic cloves
100ml pomice oil
handful rosemary, chopped
handful thyme, chopped
pork belly (2kg), ribs off
1/2 pint cider
knob of butter
4 shallots chopped
3 apples, cored, peeled and sliced
200ml double cream
12 baby potatoes
12 baby leeks

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 210C/415F/gas mark6
2. Chop or crush the garlic and mix it with the oil before adding the chopped rosemary and thyme.
3. Brush the pork belly all over with the mixture (apart from the skin) and season it with salt and pepper.
4. Put it in the oven, skin side up, for 10 mins. Then pour the cider on the pork belly, put baking paper on the top of the skin, and cover the tray with foil. Turn down the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and let it cook for 90 mins.
5. Once the pork is ready (the skin should be golden brown) remove from the oven and leave it to cool. Then, press the pork - use an oven tray with something heavy on top - and refridgerate for a minimum of 12 hours. The next day the pork belly is ready to get portioned.
6. For the veloute, heat the butter in a pan and add shallots and the apples to sweet down until soft. This should take about 10 mins. When they are soft, add the cream. Take the pan off the heat and, using a food processor or a hand blender, puree the mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Chop the new potatoes in half and boil until they are soft. Heat some butter in a pan and fry the baby leeks. Just before they are ready, add the new potatoes and season.
8. Once the veloute and vegetables are almost ready, heat some oil in a pan and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Salt the skin side of each portion of pork belly and place in the pan, skin side down. Fry for 5 mins before putting in the oven for 10 mins to warm the meat through.
9. To serve, spread 1 tbsp of veloute across the plate, put the new potatoes and baby leeks on top and, when the pork belly is nice and crispy, put it on the top of the vegetables as the hero of the dish.

A Grape Match...

Ken Forrester's Reserve Chenin Blanc 2016

Chenin blanc is always a great match for pork with apple, so opt for this multi award winner, which combines a creamy richness of flavour with bold apricot and baked apple character, balancing perfectly with the intensity of the veloute, and the fresh acidity of the apple and herbs.