Roast Pork Belly & Potatoes

Roast the pork belly directly on the oven rack over the potatoes ... that way the seasoned potatoes soak up the juices from the roast ... food heaven!
Inspired by Nigel Slater.

• Belly pork - a piece about 2kg, skin on (ask your butcher to score it to make the best crackling)
• 8 dried bay leaves
• 4 plump, juicy garlic cloves
• olive oil
• 1kg baking potatoes, King Edward are best
• White wine
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

1. Make a seasoning by crumbling the bay leaves with your fingers, peeling the garlic and squashing it with the flat of a knife, then mashing the two together with a pestle and mortar or in a food processor. Add a good pinch of slat flakes and some black pepper. You are going to spread this seasoning over the meat, so you need to pour enough oil to make a spreadable mush (technical term obviously)

2. Place the pork skin side down and massage the seasoning into it, pushing into every available crevice or slit. You need to give the seasoning time to do its stuff, so leave the meat in a cool place for an hour or so.

3. Peel the potatoes, cut them into large chunks and bring then to the boil in salted water. They need to cook until they are just about tender enough to slip the point of a knife into them without hardly any pressure - about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain them, tip them into a roasting tin and shake them about a bit so the edges roughen up a bit. That way the potatoes will soak up the seasoned juices from the roast. (Add seasoning and thyme if you like)

4. Set the oven at 200C. You are going to cook the pork directly on the shelf above the spuds, so place one oven shelf near the bottom and another 2/3 of the way up. When the oven has come to temperature, pour a little oil over the potatoes, just enough to stop them sticking, add a glass of wine and shake them about a bit, then put the roasting tin on the lower shelf. Pull the top shelf out and place the pork on it, skin side down, then slide it back. Leave alone for an hour turning the potatoes once during cooking. Cut into it with a knife to check its progress, if there is any pink, cook it for a while longer. You should find it will be just right in about an 1.5 hours. (This cut of pork is very forgiving).

5. To crisp the crackling, turn the oven up to 250C. Cook till the skin is puffed and crisp. Remove the meat, cover and leave to rest for 20 mins. Remove the potatoes, which should be sticky and deep brown.

6. After removing the potatoes from the roasting dish, pour a glass of white wine into the roasting tin and bring it to the boil on the stove top, stirring continuously.

7. Cut the meat into thick chunks, follow the bones (if they are included) with your carving knife. Add the potatoes to the plate and pour some of the gravy.

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