Pork Belly and Sweet Braised Fennel
INGREDIENTS
- Cooking Time: 3 hrs
- Servings: 6-8
- Preparation Time: 40
- 1 4 - 5 lb pork belly
- 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 bulbs of fennel, cut into sixths, herby tops removed and reserved
- a small bunch of thyme, leaves removed
- 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
- olive oil
- White wine
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature.
- Using an extremely sharp knife, score the skin of the pork belly in deep vertical lines. Try to get them as close together as possible and as parallel as possible.
- Crush the fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon of sea salt until you have a fine powder. Massage this powder into the skin.
- In a bowl toss the fresh fennel, thyme, garlic, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Place in the roasting pan.
- Place the pork belly (skin side up) on top.
- Put the pan in the preheated oven. After 10 minutes turn the heat down to 325 degrees and roast the pork for a further hour.
- After 1 hour at 325 degrees, remove the pan from the oven and drain off the fat. Add the white wine and stir.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Remove the fennel from the pan using a slotted spoon. Keep it warm.
- Put the pork back into the oven for a further hour until the skin is golden and crisp. If the wine starts to evaporate during this time, add a splash more wine, or a splash of water.
- Allow the pork to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.