Pork belly with rhubarb chutney

The first of our wonderful forced rhubarb has arrived straight from the ‘rhubarb triangle’ and this recipe pairs it with crispy pork belly from Bridget B's farm.

Ingredients

For the rhubarb chutney

    olive oil
    1 small onion, peeled and sliced into half moons
    1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and cut in half
    250 g rhubarb, cut into chunks and washed
    125 g light soft brown sugar
    50 ml red wine vinegar

For the pork belly

    500 g pork belly
    1 lemon, juice only

Serve with steamed purple sprouting broccoli and salad potatoes.

Method
1. For the rhubarb chutney: heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and sweat the onion and ginger for 3-4 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.

2. Add the remaining chutney ingredients to the pan and stew gently for about one hour, or until the mixture is thickened and has the consistency of jam. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then set aside to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.

4. For the pork: season the pork belly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and place onto a rack set over a roasting tray filled with water (the water will stop the oven from filling with smoke from the dripping fat). Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the skin is beginning to brown and crisp up.

5. Turn the oven down to 160C/gas mark 3 and roast the pork for 15 minutes.

6. Squeeze the lemon juice over the skin and continue to roast for a further 20 minutes (the lemon acid will help to crisp up the skin), or until the pork is cooked through and the skin is golden-brown and crisp. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Buy the ingredients for this recipe: