Brilliant belly

OVERNIGHT ROAST PORK BELLY WITH PEARS AND THYME BY HARDEEP SINGH KOHLI (SERVES 6-8)

INGREDIENTS

1 pork belly (2½-3kg), bone and skin removed; 3tbsp rapeseed oil; 2tbsp sea salt; 2 leeks, halved lengthways; 2 carrots, halved lengthways; 4 sticks celery, halved lengthways; 8 peppercorns; 12 bunches of thyme, of which 4 should be stripped of leaves; 1 pint perry (or pear cider); 5 firm pears (4 halved and cored, 1 finely diced)

METHOD

1. Set the oven to the highest setting. Pop the kettle on. On buying your belly, have your butcher remove it from the bone. Keep the bone and bring it home. Also, have them remove the skin, having first scored it in a criss-cross fashion.

2. Place the skin in the sink and pour boiling water over it. Carefully dry the skin thoroughly.

3. Rub a tablespoon of oil and then the sea salt into the scored flesh. Place the skin in an oiled roasting tin and put in the oven to make crackling. Remove after 30 minutes and allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 120°C.

4. Lay leeks, carrots and celery in a roasting tin with peppercorns. On top, lay the rib bones, eight sprigs of thyme and then drizzle a tablespoon of oil over. Tuck the veg in under the ribs. Lay the pork belly on top, oil and drizzle the rest of the oil, and scatter the remaining salt over.

5. Pour 350ml of the perry into the roasting tin. Cover with foil and pop into the oven for nine to 11 hours.

6. Around an hour and a half before the end of cooking, add the halved pears. Roast uncovered for the 90 minutes.

7. Remove tin from the oven, lift out the pork and pears. Keep warm.

8. Discard the cooked veg, add the remaining perry, deglaze the tin and reduce the liquor by half.

9. Before serving, add remaining thyme leaves and diced pear.