Western News: July 04, 2024

10
Thursday July 4 2024
Pork belly and parsnips to beat the cold
The days are cold, the
nights even more so.
Time to share food that
will bolster us against
the weather; good things
to eat that will light up
the dark days of deepest
winter, bringing cheer and
conviviality, writes Nigel
Slater
Slow roast belly pork
with butter beans and
balsamic vinegar
A big dish this, with thick,
jagged slices of pork on the bone,
a pile of steaming butter beans
at their side. Save this for those
who positively relish sucking
and gnawing at rib bones and
chewing at crackling.
Ingredients
Serves 4
1.9kg pork belly, bones in, skin
scored
2 medium onions
2 medium carrots
2 stalks celery
3tbsp olive oil
6 sprigs rosemary
3 cloves garlic
375g tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
1 x 700g jar butter beans or 2 x
400g tins
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method
• Take the pork out of the
fridge and leave it uncovered in a
cool place for an hour or so.
• Heat the oven to 220C fan.
Rub the pork with salt and place
it skin side up in a roasting tin.
Roast for 25 minutes or so till
the skin is a little puffed and
starting to crackle, then lower
the heat to 160C and cook for
about 1½ hours.
• Meanwhile, peel and
roughly chop the onions. Trim
the carrots, cut them in half
lengthways, then into short
pieces of about 1cm. Cut the
celery into pieces of a similar
size.
• Warm the oil in a medium to
large saucepan over a moderate
heat, add the onion, carrots
and celery, and leave to cook
for about 15 minutes, stirring
regularly, until the vegetables
are starting to soften. While
they cook, pull the leaves from
the rosemary sprigs and chop
them finely. Peel the garlic, slice
very thinly then stir, with the
rosemary, into the softening
vegetables and continue cooking.
• Roughly chop the tomatoes,
then add them to the pan,
stirring the mixture well. Once
the tomatoes have softened and
collapsed – a matter of 5-10
minutes – pour in the stock
and bring to the boil. Season
with salt and black pepper and
turn down the heat, leaving
everything to simmer for 10
minutes.
• Drain the beans and stir into
the vegetable mixture together
with the balsamic vinegar, then
set aside.
• When the pork has been
cooking for 1 hour, remove
briefly from the oven and
transfer the beans around the
meat, taking care not to get
any on the crackling. Continue
roasting for 30 minutes or until
the meat is tender.
Roast parsnips with honey
and ricotta
Glistening with honey, ricotta
and thyme, roast parsnips are
something to serve with slices
of cold roast meat or, as I did
the other day, with baked flat
mushrooms with tarragon
and lemon butter. You can
roast them without the initial
steaming, but that can result in
tougher, chewy parsnips. Better,
I think, to steam them first,
which results in a fluffy interior.
Ingredients
Enough for 4 as side dish
900g parsnips
30g butter
3tbsp olive or vegetable oil
3tbsp runny honey
1tbsp thyme leaves
100g ricotta
Method
• Get a pan of water on to
boil and have a steamer basket
or colander to hand. Peel the
parsnips, cut them in half and
then into short lengths, rather
like the size you do for roast
potatoes.
• Lower the parsnips into the
steamer basket, place it over the
boiling water and cover tightly
with a lid. Adjust the heat as
necessary to keep the water
boiling without boiling over,
and let the vegetables steam
for 20 minutes till approaching
tenderness.
• Set the oven at 210C fan.
Melt the butter and olive oil
in a roasting tin in the oven,
then add the steamed parsnips.
Toss them in the oil so they are
glistening, then roast for about
35-50 minutes till they are
golden and lightly crisp.
• Season the parsnips with
salt and black pepper, trickle the
honey over them, then return to
the oven for a further 7 minutes.
• Mix the thyme and ricotta
together. Place spoonfuls of the
cold ricotta on the hot, sizzling
parsnips and serve immediately.
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