Pork Belly with Sweet Potato Mash and Garlic Honey Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 1kg pork belly deboned
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- Ground pepper to taste
- Handful of thyme leaves
For the mash:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup cooked and diced sweet potatoes
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- 150 ml fresh cream
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 125ml fresh cream
- 10 asparagus
- 1 sliced carrot
- Whole tomato
- 1 half onion
METHOD
You will need a large Le Creuset skillet or roaster for grilling.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Make sure the pork belly is at room temperature. Pat it dry it so that it has no moisture otherwise you will not have crackling.
Generously rub the fatty side of pork belly with sea salt. Place it in a skillet and grill it for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and add vegetables.
Return to the oven and reduce the temperature to 160 degrees. Grill for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through.
For the asparagus
Add the asparagus to a large bowl. Add boiling water and a teaspoon of salt. Leave them in the bowl for 15 minutes.
In a large shallow pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté asparagus for about a minute and remove from the stove.
For the mash
In a medium-sized Le Creuset casserole, add the butter, then add cooked sweet potatoes. Add cinnamon and mix. Add fresh cream and stir, cook at low heat. Transfer the mixture into a blender if you want a smoother consistency (optional)
For the sauce
In a medium saucepan add butter then add the flour. Add garlic powder and stir using the whisk. Add fresh cream and and keep whisking. Add honey and stir. Lower the heat and continue adding milk a little bit at a time until smooth and silky. Set aside until ready to serve.
Image and recipe by Chef Lucia Mthiyane