“Pork belly is almost always on the menu at Cafe as it tastes so good. It has some fat but remember fat gives flavour and good animal fat is important in our diet especially from grass-fed livestock, as it contains Omega3. The sausage is perfect here and do look out for them out in delis, butchers or markets. The braised lentils with chunky lardons are hearty and moreish.”
Serves 4 to 6
Prep time total: 1 day; cooking time: 3 to 4 hours
INGREDIENTS
1/2 a good rare-breed pork belly on the bone
2 litres water with 200g salt diluted in it, chilled
2 litres duck fat
4-5 tablespoons duck fat for cooking
1/2 bulb of garlic
A few peppercorns
2 sprigs thyme
2 to 3 Toulouse sausages, cooked under a hot grill until nicely coloured and browned, allow to cool and slice to about 2cm thick
1/2 cup of Puy lentils (or try an Italian type called casteluccio), rinsed in a sieve
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stick celery, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
100g piece of good bacon or pancetta, cut into big lardons about 1cm in size
500ml good dark chicken stock
50g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon chopped parsley and chives
METHOD
To salt the pork simply add the belly to the salty brine and leave in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Remove from the brine and dry off.
Heat the oven to 140°C / Gas Mark 1
Melt the duck fat with half a bulb of garlic in an oven-proof dish. Add the pork belly to the hot duck fat along with the peppercorns and thyme and cover with greaseproof paper and foil. Return to the oven and gently confit the meat for 3 to 4 hours. Check regularly but be careful as it’s hot. Remove from the oven when it’s very tender and allow to cool in the fat by an open window. Once cool, take the belly out of the fat and remove the skin and bone. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. When ready to cook, remove from the fridge and cut the belly into the desired size pieces.
To cook the lentils, sweat the onion, celery, carrot and chopped garlic in about 3 tablespoons of duck fat, it takes that much to be flavoursome. Allow some colouring on the veg then add the bacon lardons and the lentils. Again, get some good colour here before adding half the stock. Cook carefully on the hob for about 30 to 40 mins, adding more stock as required.
Heat the oven to 180°C / Gas Mark 4
To cook the pork, heat a tablespoon or two of duck fat in an oven-proof frying pan and fry the pieces of pork until just colouring, being careful it doesn’t stick to the pan. Once coloured, place the pan in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden all over.
Once the lentils are cooked, add the sliced sausages, herbs and butter and stir in. Check the seasoning.
To serve, divide the lentil mixture between two warmed plates and top with pieces of golden pork belly.