Pork Belly with Lentil and Slow Roasted Tomato Salad

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean I  want to give up big Sunday roast joint ( if only for the leftovers) . In summer though, out go the vegetables and in come the  lighter salad ingredients .

This weekend we had a slow cooked pork belly joint, with puy lentils, fresh herb (oregano & thyme) , salad onion and roasted tomato ,dressed with olive oil , garlic , white wine vinegar and plenty of green leaves from my salad troughs.

The slow roast pork means the oven will be on for a good three hours so a chance slip  the accompaniments into the oven, braising the lentils in stock and roasting the tomatoes.

Tomatos are beggining to appear in the greengrocers in bulk at non-outrageous prices which makes better option than buying sun dried tomatoes in jars.

This slow roasting approach came from the ever inspiring Skye Gyngell, who recommends using plum tomatoes. I have tried this recipe with many cherry tomato varieties just with a  slightly shorter cooking time, however you probably don’t want to use anything bigger than a ping pong ball.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

1. Heat oven to 140C. Halve the tomatoes and put on baking sheets, cut sides up. sprinkle with a little olive oil salt and pepper and some herbs de provence , dried thyme or oregano depending on your preferences
2.  Cook for 2-3 hrs until semi-dried.
   
3. Leave to cool, then pack into a glass jar covered with olive oil.
   
4. These keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks if you can resist eating them. I am planning on experimenting this summer to see how they keep out of the fridge

After roasting the tomatoes are sweet , sour and salty . They are just slightly chewy but not leathery, somewhere between sundried and sunblush tomatoes. Perfect as nibbles with olives, served in goats cheese and herb salads. I bake them into foccacia and finely chopped and added to fresh tomatoes to make a pasta sauce

Slow Roasted Pork Belly

1.5kg pork belly skin on and scored
2 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp of thyme

1. Turn the oven to preheat to 200degC
2. Mix together the salt ,  pepper and thyme
3. Rub over the pork joint .
4. Place the pork on the top shelf of the oven, roast for 45 minutes
5. Turn the oven down to 140degC and roast for a further two hours
6. If the crackling is not crispy enough remove from the joint and return to the oven on a higher temperate 200degC or above
7. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes
8. Break the pork into chunk and slice the crackling