Simple Roast Belly Pork

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• Piece of belly pork, weighing about 1 and a half kilos.
• Sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and black pepper

Method

Score and dry the skin of the pork. Mix the chopped thyme with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Brush this over the meaty part of the pork, leaving the skin clean. If possible, set aside for a couple of hours.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Put the pork into a roasting tin and place in the oven. After 40 minutes turn down the heat to 170C. Continue to roast for another hour and a half, or until the meat is very tender when poked with a carving fork. Remove from the oven. If the crackling hasn’t crackled, you can put it under the grill for a few minutes to finish the job.

To ensure that the fat in the pan won’t catch fire, I always transfer the meat to a clean roasting pan and place it on the middle shelf of the oven and set the grill to 200C. Keep a close eye on the meat while the crackling puffs and spits. After 5-10 minutes the crackling will be ready. Remove the meat from the oven and put on a warmed platter.

Serve with mashed potatoes, a bowl of apple sauce and a green salad dressed with olive oil and wine vinegar.