Spicy Pork Belly With Green Olives and Lemon
- Total Time
- 4 hours 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2teaspoons black peppercorns
- ⅛teaspoon chili flakes
- ½teaspoon fennel seed
- ½teaspoon coriander
- 2½pounds pork belly
- Salt
- 1tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 2heads fennel, halved through the core and sliced
- 2leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 1cup white wine
- 2sprigs rosemary
- ¼cup lemon juice
- 1tablespoon Champagne vinegar
- ¼cup green, Tuscan-style olive oil
- ⅓cup chopped green olives
- Cooked rice (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
1174 calories; 113 grams fat; 38 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 56 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 863 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Using a spice grinder, grind the peppercorn, chili, fennel and coriander together. Season the pork with salt and rub with the ground spice mixture. Set a stew pot over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil, and when hot add the pork, skin-side down. Cook until well browned, taking care not to burn the spices. Turn once and remove the pork to a plate.
- Step 2
Reduce the heat to medium low, add the garlic, fennel and leek and a pinch of salt, and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened.
- Step 3
Add the wine, 1 cup of water, rosemary and a pinch of salt. Return the pork and juices to the pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the oven until the pork is meltingly tender, about 4 to 5 hours.
- Step 4
Transfer the pork and one-quarter of the vegetables to a plate. Discard the rosemary stems. Purée the remaining vegetables and cooking liquid in a blender with the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil, and season to taste with salt. Thin with water if necessary. Return the pork and reserved vegetables to the cooking pot and stir in the sauce and olives. Heat to serving temperature, basting the pork with the sauce. If you choose, serve over rice.
Private Notes
Comments
This dish was a huge hit...everyone took home copies of the recipe! Depending on the size of the pork belly and your pan, you need to divide it and brown in batches. A sliced lemon was added to the vegetables before putting the pork in the oven, adding a burst of flavor. To add some color, I sliced the olives instead of chopping. Next time I'll use my food processor for the sauce as my blender wasn't large enough.
I agree with Mary H, more fennel and leeks should be sautéed and added the last 20-30 minutes in the sauce before the pork belly goes back in. At least another medium fennel bulb chopped and two more leeks sliced. The dish is so rich it needs these extra vegetables.
The taste of the fennel and leeks did not survive the long cooking. It would be better to add some of the two vegetables in the last 20 minutes, and maintain some for the long cook since they become the sauce. The pork flavor was good. This is a rich filling dish.
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