We don’t know about you but is there a particular food item that you can’t help but order when going to a restaurant?
For us, it is pork belly and if you’re the same then you might want to make note of this recipe from chef Jamie Oliver.
His rolled pork belly dish is served with roasted fennel, sage and saffron risotto. The recipe serves six to eight people, great for having a family get-together and an alternative to the classic Sunday roast.
You can also use leftover pork with the dish taking three hours and 30 minutes in total, including prep and cooking time.
How to make Jamie Oliver’s rolled pork pork recipe:
Ingredients
Two bunches of sage (40g total)
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
1.7 kg piece of higher-welfare boneless pork belly, skin on, scored, (ask your butcher)
Four large bulbs of fennel
500g risotto rice
One big pinch of saffron
150ml white wine
60g Parmesan cheese
Method
First, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
Pick the sage leaves and put them into a pestle and mortar. Smash them up with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Add three tablespoons each of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Rub this mixture all over the pork and roll it up lengthways. Make sure to secure it with string.
Sit this directly on the bars of the oven with a shallow casserole pan beneath to catch the juices and let this roast for an hour.
Trim and quarter the fennel, reserving any leafy tops in a bowl of water. Pull the pan out of the oven and toss the fennel into the pan juices.
Next, reduce the temperature to 180°C/350°F/gas 4, and roast this for an hour and 30 minutes. Make sure it is cooked through and shake the fennel halfway through the time.
Then transfer the pan to medium heat on the hob. Make sure to use tongs to move the pork and half the fennel to a platter. Cover this with tin foil and leave it to rest.
Mash or break up the remaining fennel in the pan and boil the kettle. Stir the rice into the pan for two minutes and then add the saffron.
Next, pour in the wine and let it cook away. Add some boiling kettle water and wait until it’s been fully absorbed. Then add some more water.
Stir this regularly and add more water until the rice is cooked. This should take around 20 minutes.
Finely grate and beat in the Parmesan and season to your liking. You can also add more Parmesan, if you like, and loosen the mixture with water to create an oozy consistency.
Pop the lid on, turn the heat off and let it sit while you remove the string. Carve or slice the pork, sprinkling with the reserved drained fennel tops. Serve with the risotto.
