Slow-roast pork belly with gorgonzola and apple cabbage

Although it needs 3 hours slow roasting, the beauty of this cut of pork is that it looks after itself. As the fat melts, it bastes the meat, leaving the joint so soft it carves with a spoon. The gorgonzola adds an Italian touch to a truly British dish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours plus resting time
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1kg Freedom Food labelled belly of pork, skin scored
sea salt
pepper
vegetable oil
20 shallots, peeled
300ml chicken stock a pinch of Demerara sugar
1 small cabbage, quartered, cored and shredded
25g butter 2 apples, grated
100g room-temperature gorgonzola, broken into pieces

Method:

Method Preheat the oven to 170 C / fan 150 C / Gas Mark 3.

Season the meat side of the pork belly and place, skinside up, on a wire rack over a roasting tray. Brush with oil, sprinkle with sea salt and roast for 3 hours before removing and leaving to rest.

Finely slice four of the shallots, placing the rest in a saucepan with the stock and sugar. Simmer the shallots until soft and the cooking liquor has reduced, leaving a nice shiny glaze.

Meanwhile, boil the cabbage in salted water for a few minutes until tender. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sliced shallots and cook until they begin to soften. Add the apple, before stirring in the cabbage and seasoning. The gorgonzola can now be stirred in. It will melt as it warms.

Cut the crackling from the belly, snapping it into large pieces. Carve the pork in thick slices, dividing it between plates with a spoonful of the cabbage and the shallots.

Recipe from the Freedom Food Celebrity Recipe Collection 2011