PORK ROLL WITH CRACKLING

I bought some pork roll the other day but it had virtually no fat or skin on it so I asked the butcher to add some. This he did, tying it around the roll with string. (This was after he had weighed the roll and told me the price so I didn’t get charged for the crackling). The end result was a superb piece of tender meat with great crackling and a fine accompaniment – a variation on one of Simon Rimmer’s from ‘Something for the Weekend’.
Serves 4 but you may want to add mashed potato to make it really filling.

Ingredients
1kg/2lb 4oz pork belly, ready-rolled
2 tsp vegetable oil
200g/8oz smoked bacon cubes (lardons)
500g/1lb 2oz cabbage, chopped
50g/2oz butter
100ml/3½fl oz white wine
200ml/7fl oz double cream or Elmlea
2-3 tbsp sea salt
juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
gravy
fresh parsley, chopped

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Make deep cuts in the pork belly skin at 2cm intervals
3. Rub the sea salt and lemon juice into the skin of the pork belly. Place into a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/360F/Gas 4 and continue to roast the pork for about one hour, or until completely cooked through.
5. If you are serving it with mash – put the potatoes on to cook with twenty minutes to go.
6.About fifteen minutes before the meat is due to be finished, heat the oil in a large pan. Add the bacon cubes and fry until crisp and golden-brown.
7. Add the cabbage and butter and cook 3-4 minutes, until the cabbage starts to wilt.
8. Add the wine and the cream and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture has reduced to a thick sauce.
9. To serve, remove the pork from the oven and carve into thick slices.
10. Place a large spoonful of the cabbage mixture onto each plate and top with slices of the pork. Drizzle with a little gravy and sprinkle with chopped parsley.