Its been raining and it is rather gloomy, so it seemed the perfect day to give this gorgeous sage roasted pork belly ago, it is one of those dishes that feels autumnal, not that I am wishing summer to be over already, I am hoping and praying for lots of long hot sunny days, but this served with creamy mashed potato, buttery savoy cabbage and honey roasted parsnips is so comforting and would be perfect when the nights start to draw in once again.
Cooking the pork for so long, on such a low temperature makes this dish so moist, but unlike many pork dishes the pork is not bland but bursting with flavour, the sage is strongly aromatic and marries with the flavours of the pork so well, it really is a match made in heaven.
Ever since I was a little girl I have always had a herb garden, I have no clue why I was so fascinated with herbs when I was so young, but I always love the fragrances, the varieties, they just inspired me so much, now as an adult my herb garden is even more important to me than ever, as I now understand the importance the herbs have on a culinary level and my herb garden is just outside the back kitchen door so that it is easily assessableĀ all year round.
I must confess that sage is a flavour that I have had to grow into and came about by a visit to Carluccios, the buttery sage ravioli is one of my favourite dishes and it completely made me fall in love with sage.
The advantage of growing your own herbs is that you don’t need a huge space in your garden, yes you can have a dedicated bed, but they look just as amazing growing amongst flowers in your flower beds, in your vegetable plot, in containers on the smallest of patio’s or even a sunny window ledge, they are so easy to grow and it is so nice to be able to pick them fresh as and when you need them. Its also a great introduction to gardening, very simple and fun to do with Children and probably most important to me, bee’s love them.
Well I hope you enjoy this lovely recipe, it does actually make its appearance in the winter part of Donna Hay’s stunning book Seasons, but I think it is a winner anytime of the year served with seasonal vegetables and lets hope that summer returns again soon.
Buon appetito
2 heads of garlic, cloves separated
60ml olive oil
2.3kg pork belly, on the bone
1/3 cup of sea salt
4 bunches of sage
Preheat the oven to 160C, 230F.
Arrange the garlic over the base of a baking tray.
Rub the olive oil all over the pork and rub the salt into the skin. Place the pork skin side down on top of the garlic and cook for 3 hours. What I like about recipes like this is, you can get on with other things while dinner is cooking away, you can make a dessert, do the housework or pop to a friends for coffee like I did and tell Hubby how hard your day has been slaving over a hot stove, LOL !!!!! š
At the end of the 3 hours, increase the heat to 180C, 355F.
Turn over the pork, add the sage and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the skin is golden and crunchy.
Serves 4 to 6.
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