Welcome

Hello, and welcome to my blog — thanks for dropping in.

I'll be doing my best to bring you interesting and informative ideas, recipes and tips as well as keeping you up to date on all things foodie.

To kick you off, here's my fail-safe way to cook the perfect pork belly. This cut of meat has become quite trendy of late and has found its way on to many a fine restaurant's menu — not surprisingly because it is a cheap cut that, if given a bit of love and the right treatment, is a real crowd-pleaser....


Twice cooked pork belly with Madeira jus

• 1kg pork belly. (get a good British rare breed, Gloucester Old Spot is my favourite)
• 1 leek
• 1 large onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 sticks of celery
• 100ml cheap balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs fennel seeds crushed
• 2 tbs Maldon sea salt
• 500ml good quality cider (not White Lightning!)
• 1 litre good brown chicken/beef stock
• 100ml Madeira

Pre-heat oven to 150c

Roughly chop the veg and place in a deep roasting tray and pour over the cider and the balsamic vinegar.

If the ribs are still attached to the belly carefully remove them with a sharp knife (or get your butcher to do it for you) but keep them and put them to one side.

Crush the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar with the sea salt.

With a stanley knife score the skin in a criss-cross fashion, about a centimetre apart. Place the ribs on top of the veg and the belly on top of that.

Boil a kettle and pour over the belly so the scores open. Continue pouring the boiling water over until it's a centimetre below the skin. The boiling water will open up the scores you've made. Take the fennel seeds and salt and rub well into the skin.

Cover carefully with foil leaving no gaps and cook in the oven for 5 hours, topping up with water if necessary.

Remove the foil and cook for a further hour or until the skin is hard enough to 'knock'.

Remove from the oven, leave to cool and then lift off the belly and discard the veg and bones
Put the belly in a fresh roasting tray and place another on top placing substantial weight on the belly (I use loads of books) and press the pork — ideally overnight. This forces out the excess fat that can be the off-putting thing about pork belly. When belly is pressed, portion with a bread knife into 8cms squares and refrigerate.

Make the Madeira jus buy reducing the stock and the Madeira by half and seasoning well. Adjust the flavour with honey if necessary. Keep warm.

When ready to cook place portions of pork belly in a roasting tray with an inch of good meat stock (to keep the meat moist) and cook in the oven for about 15 minutes on 180

To finish place pork under the grill until the skin 'popcorns' you'll see what I mean — perfect crackling! Keep an eye on it though, don't let it burn!

Serve on buttery mash or dauphinoise potatoes and veg of your choice. Pour over jus