Crispy pork belly with chorizo & butter bean stew

Pork Belly is a thrifty cut that takes centre stage in this recipe. Tender meat encased in a golden shell of crispy crackling, seasoned to perfection and paired with a garnish of fresh aromatic thyme. Serve it with our rich and juicy chorizo & butter bean stew for a welcome change to potatoes (with a hunk of crusty bread to soak up all the juices).

3 hours 15 mins

4

Medium

• 1kg Field & Flower pork belly, boned & rolled
• Sea salt
• Handful of fresh thyme to serve

For the stew:
• 75g chorizo, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Knob of butter
• 4 large shallots, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
• 100g spinach
• 1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 500ml chicken stock
• 100ml white wine
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Seasoning to taste

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Remove the pork from its packaging and pat dry with kitchen towel. Season with sea salt (your joint will already be scored).

2. Place the pork onto a wire rack and roast for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 160C and roast for a further 1.5 hours. Finally, increase the heat to 200C and cook for an additional 30 minutes to get a nice crisp on the skin. Remove the joint from the oven and rest for 20 minutes before carving.

3. Meanwhile, prepare your butter bean stew. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and fry off the chorizo until starting to char. Remove and set aside. Heat a knob of butter in the same pan and cook the shallots for 5-7 minutes until starting to soften, then add the garlic and carrots and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour over the white wine and bubble until virtually all the liquid has cooked off. Add the butter beans, cooked chorizo, chicken stock, seasoning and lemon juice to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the spinach and parsley until wilted.

5. Carve your pork joint into thick slices, serving on top of the butter bean stew with fresh thyme sprinkled over.