Gooseberries are great for using in savoury dishes too – let’s get cracking with this melt-in-your-mouth, super simple slow roasted pork belly with a tangy gooseberry sauce.
SERVES 4
- 1.2 kg pork belly
- Thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 225g gooseberries
- Unwrap your pork belly joint and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Use a sharp knife to deeply score the skin several times, so it is slashed all over. Rub a good pinch of salt and pepper into the skin and flesh, then pop the joint in a snug roasting tin and let it come to room temperature.
- Heat your oven to as high as it goes, ideally 240C/gas 9. When the pork belly is ready, slide it into the oven and roast for 20–25 mins until the skin crackles up.
- Turn the oven down to 170C/gas 3 and roast the pork for a further 3 hours. The skin should be golden and crisp, and the meat very tender.
- While the pork cooks, make the gooseberry sauce. Peel the ginger and finely grate it into a small pan. Slice the tops and tails off the gooseberries, then add them to the pan with 2 tbsp of water. Pop on a lid and gently heat for 5–10 mins until the gooseberries have burst and made a sauce.
- Taste the gooseberry sauce. Dessert gooseberries are sweet, but if you think it’s too sharp then you can add a pinch of sugar or dash of honey. Set aside to cool.
- When the pork has finished cooking, take out of the oven and place them on a board. Loosely cover with foil and rest for at least 30 mins. Slice the crackling off the top of the pork and break into chunks, then slice the meat and serve with the gooseberry sauce.
Top Tip: If the skin isn’t crisp enough to make crackling after the pork has roasted, slice it off in one piece when you take the pork out of the oven to rest. Lay the skin, crackling side up, on a wire rack and flash under a hot grill for 2–3 mins.