Asian spice rubbed roast pork belly with brussels sprout bake

Posted by petra08 on February 28, 2013 · 4 Comments 

It is so cold at the moment it is too early to do something at the allotment but there are still veg to pick. This weekend we picked Brussels sprouts and a small cabbage head, sadly the last of the cabbage. The beetroots and parsnips are still ok so we picked a few of those as well. I had a pork belly in the freezer that I wanted to cook and what better than the brussels sprouts to go with them. I had quite a few and was thinking of roasting them but there is something very nice about a bake, especially when it is so cold outside!

Pork belly spice rub

• szechuan pepper corns
• flaky sea salt
• star anise

I dry toasted them in a pan and then ground them in a pestle and mortar. I then added molasses before rubbing it in to the pork belly making sure the spices covered the whole piece of meat.

Once that was done I put the pork belly (on the bone) in the oven at 100C for 2.5 hours. After that I put the heat up to 225 for another 30 -40 minutes and then let rest for 20 minutes.

Whilst that was cooking I prepared the Brussels sprout bake 

• brussels sprouts, cleaned and sliced 
• cabbage, sliced
• cauliflower, sliced florets

for cheesy bechamel sauce

• 4 ½ dl semi skimmed milk 
• arrow root to thicken, about 3 large tsp
• salt
• white pepper
• grated nutmeg
• burrata, cut in to pieces
• Jarlsberg, grated, about 1/2 dl

Slice the veg and place in a greased ovenproof dish.

Make the bechamel sauce, add the cheese last, it should just melt, not boil and once the cheese is melted pour over the veg, bake for about 30 minutes before serving in 180C (bake for a short while with the meat and then turn the heat down).

Let the meat rest before carving.

When the veg is ready carve the meat and serve. The fat will have rendered down and the meat should be juicy and tender.

I didn’t make a salad to go with this as there was three veg in the bake. It was a very simplistic meal, perfect for when you are home all day and it can just do it’s own thing in the oven and also filling the house with the lovely smell of the spices and the roasting meat.

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Filed under Allotment/Veg, Brussels sprouts, Burrata, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cheese, Jarlsberg, Meat, Pork, Recipe · Tagged with Brussel sprout bake, Chinese spices, roast pork belly