Saturday, May 12, 2018

Braised Pork Belly With Fennel & Cabbage Salad

By: The Food Hunter

It probably has never crossed your mind but trust me when I tell you that pork belly and cabbage go together like peanut butter and jelly. Add some sliced fennel to the mix and you will have a drool worthy meal for sure. The recipe below, created by Mario Batali, proves this point.

Though the recipe has a lot of ingredients, it's not super hard to make and so worth the effort! Give it a try; you won't be disappointed.


Braised Pork Belly With Fennel & Cabbage Salad
(recipe by Mario Batali)


FOR THE RUB:
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Fennel (toasted and ground)
3 tablespoons Salt
3 tablespoons Rosemary (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the rub ingredients and very thoroughly mix. Using a sharp knife, score a 1-inch grid pattern into the fat of the pork belly. Rub the pork belly all over with the spice mixture.

FOR THE BRAISE:
2 pounds Pork Belly (skin removed)
2 Carrots (peeled; cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
3 stalks Celery (cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
1/2 Red Onion (sliced)
2 Fennel Stalks (cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
1 bottle Beer
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Sear the pork, fat side down, until brown and crispy. Flip pork and add the carrots, celery, red onion, fennel, fennel seeds, and beer and season with salt. Bring to a boil, transfer to 350 degree F oven and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

FOR THE FENNEL SALAD:
1 small head Napa Cabbage (shredded)
1/2 Red Onion (sliced)
1 bulb Fennel (thinly sliced on a mandolin)
1/4 cup Mint (chopped)
1/4 cup Basil Leaves (chopped)
1 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 tablespoons Fennel Honey (see below)
2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and freshly ground Pepper

In a large bowl, combine the napa cabbage, red onion, fennel, mint, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons of fennel honey, and apple cider vinegar. Toss thoroughly to coat and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

FOR THE FENNEL HONEY:
1 tablespoon toasted Fennel Seeds
1/3 cup Honey

Meanwhile, toast the fennel seeds in a small sauté pan. Once fragrant, add the honey, and cook over low heat for 2 minutes to allow flavors to come together.

TO FINISH:
Once pork belly has finished cooking, brush with the remaining fennel honey, and slice to serve. Serve the pork belly over the fennel salad.

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