Pork belly with roasted aubergine and tomatoes
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Pork belly with roasted aubergine and tomatoes
Juicy roasted aubergines and tomatoes are dressed with a sweet-and-sour dressing that cuts through the richness of slow-cooked pork belly
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Emily Jonzen
Emily Jonzen
Ingredients
- 1kg pork belly slices
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 4 small or 2 large echalion shallots, peeled and halved lengthways
- 1 garlic bulb, halved horizontally
- 2 bay leaves
- 1kg floury potatoes (such as maris piper), cut into 1.5cm cubes
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- sea salt flakes
- 3 medium aubergines, cut into 1.5cm-thick slices and patted dry
- 400g cherry tomatoes
- 30g pine nuts
- 6 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2½ tbsp light brown soft sugar
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 x 30g pack basil, leaves roughly torn
Step by step
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Remove the pork belly from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Pat the pork dry with kitchen roll and season with salt. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the pork in two batches for 2-3 minutes on each of the four sides, until golden brown. Put the shallots, garlic bulb halves and bay leaves in a roasting tin and lay the pork slices over the top. Add 150ml water, then cover tightly with foil and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, until tender.
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When the pork has about 30 minutes left, add the potatoes to a pan of salted boiling water, return to the boil and cook for 2-4 minutes, until just tender at the edges. Drain well, shake to roughen up the edges slightly and set aside to steam dry.
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Remove the pork from the oven and keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil onto a large, lipped baking tray and heat in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Toss the potatoes and rosemary in the hot oil and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle over some sea salt flakes and transfer to the top shelf of the oven. Put the aubergine slices on a separate large baking tray, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season and place below the potatoes. Roast the potatoes and aubergines for 30-35 minutes, turning halfway, until golden. Add the tomatoes to the aubergines for the final 15 minutes and sprinkle over the pine nuts for the final 5 minutes.
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Meanwhile, bring the vinegar and sugar to the boil in a small pan, then simmer for 5 minutes until syrupy. Remove from the heat; stir in the capers. Dress the aubergines and tomatoes with the vinegar mixture, then stir through the basil. Discard the bay leaves from the pork and serve with the shallots, garlic, vegetables and potatoes.
