Slow Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling

My Mum is a bit of a crackling queen and she happily passed on her year's knowledge to me with cooking pork and the perfect, crispy crackling. Always dry the outer side with kitchen towels or a clean tea towel (which then goes into the dirty washing), score deep into the fat, but not into the meat flesh, and salt, plenty of sea salt. 

This is a slow cooked belly of pork that I cooked with the Simple Slow Cooked Chicken last weekend and it is a bit of a showstopper with that crackling. 

I've used a dry white wine here (Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc) but this also works beautifully with a dry cider in the tin too so feel free to experiment.

Slow Roast Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling

Here's how:

• 2kg belly pork
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• 250ml dry white wine or a dry cider
• 250ml chicken stock
• Fresh thyme
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• Fry Light or olive oil
• 2 carrots

Firstly whack the oven up to 230 degrees on high. 

Now prepare the meat as above, dry the skin and most importantly the fat. Now use a sharp knife and score across diagonally both ways all across the fat, so you have a criss cross of incisions. You need to go as far down into the fat as you feel confident without touching the flesh of the meat. 

Now season generously with sea salt, a good pinch, and black pepper to taste. You also need to oil the meat (but not the fat!) so I use Fry Light to gently spray around the outside of the meat, just a few sprays. 

Chop the carrots into equally sized pieces and place into the middle of the roasting tin, ready for the pork belly to sit on top of. This will help to cook the meat evenly all over and prevent the bottom side drying out. 

Split the garlic bulb into 3-4 bits and scatter around the roasting tin.

Place into the oven and roast for 50 minutes then remove from the oven.

Turn the oven down to 160 degrees. 

Now without touching the meat and especially the crackling, pour in the white wine and chicken stock. Now return to the oven and cook for a further three hours, by which time, the meat should be incredibly tender. Allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Enjoy! 

Rafferty's Cafe Wine Bar, St Merryn, Cornwall

During our recent week-long stay in Padstow, Cornwall we enjoyed a really beautiful traditional Sunday lunch at Rafferty's Cafe Wine Bar, St Merryn, which was in very close proximity to where we were staying in Constantine Bay.

There were six adults and two children and they squeezed us in on enquiring, just about, as the last sitting of the afternoon. We wanted to try the restaurant as we’d had a couple of good experiences, on returning to Penrich late in the evening after a full day of sight-seeing, with the takeaway outpost of Rafferty’s Pizzeria, the sister restaurant.

We were welcomed by a friendly and knowledgeable waitress and the continued warmth throughout our meal from the staff was appreciated, especially with our young charges (plus two sleeping children).

The menu was small but rather well formed - I chose the fish tostada to begin which were really tasty - sharp pickled red onion with a little refreshing tomato salad pepped up with coriander complemented the delicately flavoured soft white fish (cod so I believe) and the satisfying crunch from the baked tortilla made for a very pleasing start to the meal.

Fish tostada, Rafferty's

Another appetiser among our group was the patatas bravas - spicy tomato sauce coated fried potatoes which went down well with several around the table.

Patatas Bravas, Rafferty's Wine Bar

For our main, we, all of us, opted for the traditional Sunday roast dinner - a mixed sirloin of Cornish beef with pork belly and we were glad we did.

Presented to the table on two big china serving dishes, everything looked incredibly appealing dished up this way and meant we could each take a little (or in some cases, a lot) of what we fancied. The sirloin was just a little pink in the centre, which was perfect for our group and the pork was lovely and tender to the bite.

Roast Sirloin of Cornish Beef and Pork Belly at Rafferty's Wine Bar

Duck fat roast potatoes were deliciously crisp on the outside with fluffy middles and the perfect amount of seasoning and light and fluffy homemade Yorkshire puddings to soak up the deliciously beefy gravy were very welcome too.

The vegetable selection was fantastic - a rich and creamy cauliflower cheese, roasted heritage carrots of many hues and that were deliciously sweet, curly kale that still had some bite and not the sometimes-over-wilted excuse for greens that comes from overseeing this many covers and a particular favourite of mine, roasted beetroot that was rich, earthy and beautiful in both colour, appearance and taste, just wonderful. Being the only person in our household that likes beetroot this was a real treat.

The children's mini roast dinners came up already portioned and were a good size.

The desserts were equally enchanting, simple but gorgeous Cornish ice creams for the girls. I had a delightful vanilla panna cotta with the perfect amount of both sweetness and wobble plus plenty of pretty specks of vanilla. This was served with a homemade shortbread biscuit and some balsamic glazed strawberries.

Vanilla Panna Cotta, Raferty's Wine Bar

Another dessert was the chocolate torte served with Cornish clotted cream which also went down very well.

Chocolate Torte, Rafferty's Wine Bar

The three course option for adults was priced at £23.50, or two courses for £18.50 which I thought, given the top notch quality of the food, provided excellent value for money. Children's mini roasts were £6.50. Our entire meal for the eight of us came in at just under £200 before service - and was well worth the price.

If we venture back to this area of Cornwall again then we would return in a heartbeat to Rafferty's for the excellent food and warm, welcoming service.

Glen, Bridget and I enjoyed a lovely late afternoon family walk from Constantine Bay to Treyaron Bay to walk off the excesses of Rafferty's which proved absolutely delightful. Cornwall really is beautiful.

Constantine Bay

Fun on Treyarnon Bay Beach, Cornwall

Trayarnon Bay, Cornwall

Middle Eastern Roast Pork with Roasted Roots and Yoghurt Dip

At the weekend, following a few weekends of eating a traditional Sunday roast dinner I fancied cooking something different - a twist on the classic and came up with this Middle Eastern-inspired pork shoulder joint that I marinated for five hours and it went down a treat, we'll definitely be having it again.

I served with some roasted 'roots' or carrots and parsnips drizzled with olive oil and scattered with cumin seeds and some garlic-roasted sweet potato plus a little wilted spinach and a quick yoghurt dip - delicious.

The below was enough for Glen, Bridget (age 2) and myself with a little sliced meat leftover for sandwiches the next day.

Middle Eastern Roast Pork and Roasted Roots

Here's how:

• 1 small pork shoulder (approx 1.5kg)
• The pork marinade:
• 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
• 1.5 tsp dried ginger
• 1 tsp ras el hanout
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sea salt

The roots:

• 1 pack baby parsnips
• 2 large carrots
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• Pinch sea salt
• Pinch black pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Everything else:

• Half pack spinach
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
• Handful parsley
• Handful coriander

Firstly combine the cumin, ginger, ras el hanout, pepper, salt, thyme, rosemary, cinnamon and paprika in a small bowl and mix to combine the spice mix. Get your pork joint into a large bowl and rub all over with the spice mix, into the creases of the meat to ensure it is fully coated.

Now wash your hands, and then cover the pork with either cling film or tin foil and place into the fridge to marinade for several hours. If you haven't got five hours, a couple will do.

Once the pork is sufficiently marinated, remove from the fridge for twenty minutes and pre-heat the oven to 180. Then place the pork into a roasting tin, fat side up, drizzle with a little olive oil and place onto the middle shelf. This will need 30 minutes per 500g plus an additional 20 minutes - or cook according to the packaging.

Whilst the pork is cooking, peel the sweet potatoes and chop into flat rounds and place into a small oven proof dish that you can mash into after roasting, place in four unpeeled garlic cloves and set aside.

If using the baby parsnips you can just cut the ends off but I like to peel too as Bridget won't eat them with the peel on. Place them into another roasting dish. Peel the carrots and cut into long wedges, similarly sized to the baby parsnips and add to the roasting tin. Drizzle with a generous glug of olive oil (1.5 tbsp) and then scatter over the cumin seeds and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper then toss to coat fully. Cover and set aside.

Cumin Roots

When you have about half an hour of pork cooking time left, place all of the roots into the oven to begin cooking - they will take about 45 minutes, which allows the meat some resting time.

For the yoghurt dip simply chop the parsley and coriander and add to a bowl with the yoghurt. Then once the sweet potato is out of the oven, take out one of the roasted garlic cloves and add to the dip and stir well. Leave in the fridge until serving.

When the meat is out of the oven, leave to stand and rest for 15-20 minutes before carving into thick slices.

Middle Eastern Pork

Place a drizzle of olive oil into a pan and wilt the spinach with a little salt for 1 minute whilst getting everything else out of the oven.

The sweet potatoes need to be gently crushed or mashed in their cooking vessel, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of cinnamon and stir through.

Roasted garlic sweet potatoes, pre mashing

Cumin roasted roots

Now use a platter or a wooden board and dish everything up accordingly, so the family can dig in and get as much or as little of what they want. Once the meat is on, drizzle over some of the yoghurt dip which complements the flavours really well. Enjoy!

The Narrow, Wapping

Last Sunday was of course Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day and we had a lovely three course lunch as a family at Gordon Ramsay's informal, The Narrow at Wapping, overlooking the Thames.

I'd never eaten there before despite popping in several times for drinks, and always eyeing up the food.

There were eight of us - myself, Glen and Bridget, my parents, my Nan and my two brothers, Daniel and Dean and when we arrived the place was absolutely heaving with jovial diners. There wasn't room for a pre-meal drink at the bar but we squeezed onto a sofa in the main stretch of the restaurant with the beautiful views out across the river. It's a fairly cold space despite the radiators pumping out heat plus a few fan heaters so wrap up if you feel the cold and visit during this cold spell.

There was a great atmosphere and children were most certainly welcome - there was even a face painter, which was a nice touch.

Once seated we ate from both the The Narrow's Mother's Day and  A La Carte menus and weren't disappointed.

My Dad and I chose the ham hock terrine to begin, which came with the most delicious homemade piccalilli that was artfully arranged on the plate. The terrine was chunky, full of meaty flavour and perfect with the fresh seeded rolls that came to the table. Very rustic in taste, but beautifully presented.

Ham Hock Terrine with Piccalilli

Glen had a mushroom fricassee served on rocket with buckwheat and with a perfectly soft poached egg on top which was a delicious and light way to begin.

Mushroom Fricassee with Rocket, Buckwheat and a Poached Egg

My Mum and Daniel both opted for the mackerel rillettes which came atop some rye toasted bread. Smooth and pepped up with a zing of lemon and a hint of black pepper, it was lovely, a great start.

Mackerel Rillettes on Rye

Dean had the Chicken Liver Parfait which was great but a rather large portion - no matter; we shared around the table, happily.

Chicken Liver Parfait with Pear Chutney

We also ordered one of the bar snacks of fried squid - a favourite dish, as we'd seen a few other diners enjoying. The squid was tasty and cooked perfectly - no rubbery texture here, cooked in salt and chilli but It was a slightly too heavy handed on the salt for my liking.

Squid

I had seen several roast beef dinners whilst having a drink beforehand, and it looked rare and beautiful so this is what I chose. I was slightly disappointed when it arrived, it looked a touch overdone for my taste, but on cutting into the meat, realised it must have browned on the outside from sitting on the hotplate waiting to be brought to the table as the meat, a sirloin, was tender and pink inside and had the most beautiful seasoned taste. The roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables were lovely too but the huge Yorkshire pudding was utterly perfect - I ate every morsel.

Roast Beef

Glen had the leg of lamb and Dean the pork loin roast dinners and, like mine, each came with just a drizzle of gravy, and we had to request more. We weren't offered condiments and our waiter rushed off so we had to, request these from a different member of staff which was a little frustrating, however it was insanely busy and the roasts were all good so we felt forgiving.

Roast Pork

My Dad had the Pappardelle with Rabbit Ragu which he said was fantastic; but lamented he would have liked a little more pasta.

Rabbit Ragu with Pappardelle

Both my Nan and Bridget had the Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas, although Bridget's was from the children's menu and the white fish was cooked beautifully, coated in a crispy batter and served with perfect 'chip shop' style chips and mushy peas - again a good dish.

Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas

My Mum and Daniel both opted for the Pan-fried Hake on a bed of Crayfish Risotto. The hake was cooked to perfection, crispy skin and perfectly flake-able flesh. The risotto was a little under seasoned and lacking in the seafood flavour Dan was looking for, but my Mum thoroughly enjoyed.

Pan Fried Hake with Crayfish Risotto

We had a selection of puddings that included Buttermilk Panna Cotta, Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding, White Chocolate Cheesecake with Poached Pear and my own delicious Rhubarb and Pear Crumble with a Vanilla Custard - utterly delicious. My only complaint here would be that I could have done with a little bit more custard, but that may be down to sheer greed.

Rhubarb and Pear Crumble with Vanilla Custard

Bridget's dessert was an ice cream with chocolate sauce which she thoroughly enjoyed and I think it's a great coup that any child eats free at The Narrow all day, every day - great incentive for families to eat out more. She received a colouring in book, some pencils and a plain paper hat to decorate which kept her more than amused. The staff were kind and attentive towards her too, when one waiter noticed she was nibbling on the cucumber garnish from one of our drinks, he brought a little plate full of cucumber over. All of these small attentions to detail mean so much when eating out with children, so top marks for being family-friendly.

We had a few beers and wine amongst the table but there were a couple of drivers in our mix too and the bill came in at just under £300 for the eight of us including service which for three decent courses each, I thought was reasonable.

The Narrow is a great venue for informal family dining, in a buzzing riverside atmosphere that serves wholesome, hearty and delicious traditional food with something for all the family.

Quick Pork Noodle Soup

If you have leftover roast pork, chicken, turkey or even beef this is a lovely, quick and easy noodle soup recipe that is fragrant, warming and makes a welcome change from a traditional British leftover stew.

Using Asian flavours such as Chinese Five Spice, a smidge of Thai Green Curry Paste and plenty of chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander this is an utterly addictive recipe and once you've made it I'm sure it will become a leftover staple.

Quick Pork Noodle Soup

Serves two.

Here's how:

• Three slices of leftover roast pork
• 1 tbsp Chinese five spice
• 1 teaspoon green Thai curry paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• Bunch spring onions
• Two thumbnail sized pieces of ginger
• 1 and a half large red chillis
• 1 carrot
• 1 red pepper
• Handful mushrooms
• Handful bean shoots
• Some green leaves - I used cavello nero here but you can use cabbage, lettuce, greens - whatever you have in stock
• 1 lemon or lime
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 1 packet instant noodles
• Bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp Shaohsing wine

Firstly slice the pork into bite-sized pieces and pop into a bowl with a drizzle of the sesame oil and the Chinese five spice. Use a spoon to toss the meat to absorb all the flavours and leave to one side whilst you prepare everything else.

Now crush the garlic, and finely slice the ginger and chill. Place the remaining sesame oil into a wok on a gentle heat and add the garlic, ginger and  half of the chilli to slowly soften and flavour the oil. 

Whilst these are softening in the wok, peel the carrot and very finely chop into matchsticks, slice the pepper, spring onions and mushrooms and shred the greens. 

By then the oil should be full of flavour - now add the marinaded pork including anything left in the bowl to the wok and allow to cook for several minutes until the pork becomes nicely gnarly from the five spice coating. Next add the carrots and pepper and allow to cook for a minute or so.

Now add the coconut milk which will make the basis for the soup, stir in the Thai curry paste and add the mushrooms, most of the bean shoots and greens. Add the soy and Shaohsing wine and squeeze in the juice of a whole lime and give a gentle stir. 

Now gently slice the coriander and remove the stalks - place the stalks into the wok with the soup. 

After the soup has simmered for four-five minutes add the instant noodles to the mix which should cook in three minutes. 

Whilst the noodles are cooking place the red chilli, the other half of lime and a bunch of fresh coriander onto a little plate as additional seasoning for the table and then dish up your soup into deep bowls. Enjoy!

Roast Pork with Jewelled Vegetable Couscous

This quick and easy meal works brilliantly with leftover roast pork - or in fact any leftover roasted meats that are probably plentiful after the onslaught of Christmas and Boxing Day! 

I use fresh mint and coriander to make the couscous lovely and fragrant but you could use parsley, dill or any other herb - experiment and use the flavours you like. The 'jewels' are the gorgeous pips from a pomegranate which add a lovely taste and crunchy texture to the dish.

The below serves four or two with leftovers for lunch the following day.

Leftover roast pork with jewelled couscous

Here's how:

• 4-6 slices of leftover Roast Pork or other meat of your choice
• 200g couscous
• 400ml boiling water
• Handful cherry tomatoes
• Bunch spring onions
• 1 courgette
• 1/2 red chilli
• 1 orange pepper
• Seeds of 1 pomegranate
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Handful each of fresh mint and coriander or your preferred herbs
• 1 lime
• Some fresh green salad leaves - I used watercress here for a peppery addition

Firstly place the couscous into a jug or bowl and cover with the boiling water. Now use a fork to stir vigorously and then cover with a plate and leave to one side for five minutes or until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

In the meantime finely dice the courgette, chilli, spring onions, pepper, cherry tomatoes and any other vegetables you want to add to the couscous and half one lime. Shred the herbs

Slice as much meat as you need for the meal and set aside. 

Once the water has been absorbed fluff up with a fork, season generously and add the extra virgin olive oil and stir. Now add the vegetables and pomegranate seeds as well as the herbs and stir thoroughly. 

Plate up the meat and salad and serve the couscous in a bowl with a lime for additional seasoning in the middle of the table and let everyone dive in. Enjoy!

Roast Pork Shoulder with Crispy Crackling

Roast pork with crackling is one of the most delicious things to eat and is so simple to do. With all the trimmings (roast potatoes, a selection of vegetables and gravy) it's a truly beautiful thing and here's how to get a gorgeous joint of meat that will make a fantastic roast dinner and provide leftovers for a selection of delicious tasting meals. Ask the butcher to score the fat for you if you're not comfortable doing yourself or give it a go for spectacular crackling.

Roast pork shoulder with crispy crackling

Here's how:

• 1 shoulder of pork - roughly 2.5-3kg 
• 1-2 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried thyme or three to four sprigs of fresh
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary or three sprigs of fresh
• 2 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 large white onion
• 1 bulb garlic
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil

Firstly take the pork from the fridge, remove any packaging and allow to sit for twenty minutes or so to get back to room temperature and preheat the oven to 180.

In the meantime roughly chop the carrots, parsnips, celery and onion (no need to peel either) and place into a large roasting tin - this will be a trivet for the meat to sit on. Add a whole bulb of garlic broken into cloves which will give fantastic flavour to the meat. 

Now place the meat on top of the vegetables and firstly drizzle over the oil. Next add the black pepper and salt to the outer flesh of the meat and rub in with your hands - you can wear gloves if you prefer. Now add at least one tablespoon of sea salt to the skin on top which will help to crisp up the crackling. Finally add the herbs and then loosely cover with tin foil and place into the oven.

Cook the meat for thirty five minutes per 0.5kg and then an extra 25 minutes and remove the foil for the final 30-40 minutes of cooking for really crispy crackling.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about forty minutes before serving.