Slow Roasted Pork Belly – with the Cajun ‘holy trinity’ of Bell Peppers, Onions and Celery

Feeds 2 – 3 hours cooking - Easy
This dish was inspired by an ‘Mmmm that looks nice’ feeling when I saw their Pork Belly Stack with Rosemary Mash and Deep Fried Leek Strips, at The Nineteenth House pub in Bath. I’d only dropped in for a pint on the way home.
The dish is relatively easy to cook requiring very little experience; something to impress without too much effort. Serve with a Dijon Mustard Mash.
Ingredients:
Pork Belly - cut in rectangles and about 350g per person
1 Red Onion
2 Bell Peppers
1 Carrot
1 Stick of Celery
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 bottle of Red Wine (150ml for the dish)
2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
Potatoes sufficient for 2 portions of Mash
1 Egg
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 dstsp. Crème Fraîche
½ pint of vegetable stock (Bouillon)
2 tsp. Corn Flour
Salt and Black Pepper
Method:
Light up the oven and preheat to Gas Mark 8 (450°F, 230°C, Hot)
Score the skin and fatty surface of the pork into 15mm (1/2 inch) squares, sprinkle with a little of les Herbes de Provence with Salt and Pepper to taste.
Place in a fairly shallow roasting tin and place in the centre of the oven. After about half an hour check and if the skin is ‘crackling’ up nicely, reduce the heat to Gas Mark 3 (325°F, 165°C, Moderate) and roast for a further hour.
Now prepare the vegetables. Peel the potatoes sufficient for two portions of mash.
Cut the Bell Pepper into 2cm squares, along with the onion. Thinly slice the celery and carrot, crush and chop the Garlic.
When the meat has been in the oven for an hour and a half, take it out cover on a warm plate and set aside while the cut vegetables are tumbled in the juices in the tray, seasoned with black pepper and sprinkled with the rest of les Herbes de Provence . Rest the meat on top of the vegetables and return to the oven for a further hour.
With half an hour to go, make the Mustard Mash. Boil the potatoes and mash. Stir in the egg, Dijon Mustard and Crème Fraîche and a couple of twists of fresh ground black pepper. Put in an oven proof dish and place in the oven to keep warm.
Preheat a second roasting tray. Remove the meat and vegetable from their cooking tray and place on the fresh tray and return to the oven.
With the original roasting tray, place it on the hob and heat. When boiling, add the wine to de-glaze ensuring you stir in all the rich caramelised juices from the meat and vegetables and then reduce. Add the vegetable stock and thicken as required with a little corn flour. Finally glaze with a knob of butter before serving.
To serve the dish, place a pile of Mustard Mash on a warm plate. Pile the vegetables on the mash and pour a little of the sauce over it before topping out with the Pork. Dress the rest of the plate with the sauce.
Enjoy.

PS. I’m going to try this again but vary the flavours with Chilli and chopped leaf Coriander.