Flavours of Urban Sydney

Slow-roasted pork belly, carrot + green apple puree, 
pickled radish + celery, P.X reduction

Serves 4

1kg of boneless pork belly
300g rock salt
2 sprigs of thyme
zest of one lemon
500g of carrots, thinly sliced
3 granny smith apples peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds
100g of unsalted butter
50ml of honey
2 red radishes, cut into matchsticks
1 stick of celery, thinly sliced
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
100g caster sugar
100ml water
50ml mirin
20ml white wine vinegar
200ml Pedro Ximenes
50ml extra virgin olive oil

METHOD


1. Place the rock salt, thyme and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor and mix until combined. Cover the pork belly with the rock salt mixture on a tray and allow to cure for 3 hours, wash off and pat dry, then place on a roasting tray with a rack to allow the fat to drip down. Roast for 90 minutes at 180C until the pork skin is golden and crackly.

2. Meanwhile, while the pork is in the oven in a medium-sized pot with a lid on it, add the olive oil, butter and fennel seeds and slightly toast them for about 1 minute on a medium heat. Next, add the carrots and cover with the lid, stir every 10 minutes or so until the carrots start to soften, then add the apples and cook for a further 10 minutes until soft. Add the honey and blend until smooth.

3. To make the pickled celery, place the sugar, mirin, white wine vinegar, water, star anise and cinnamon into a small pot over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Allow to cool and add the celery and radish and rest for an hour before serving.

4. To make the Pedro Ximenes reduction, place the PX in a small pot over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and then set aside and allow to cool.

5. To serve, cut the pork belly into 1cm slices using a serrated knife to keep the crackle intact. Next, spread the puree onto the plate with a spoon and garnish with the pickled radish and celeryDrizzle with the PX reduction to finish.

This recipe was provided courtesy of Croydon Lane Wine and Tapas Bar in Cronulla. The recipe is also featured in the recently released book for cooks, Flavours of Urban Sydney, available for sale at the eatery. If you'd like to receive more posts and links to my latest articles, enter your email address on my website: www.carlagrossetti.com