Braised Pork Belly with Celery
We love pork belly in our family. The rich and succulent meat is the perfect comfort food. Usually, I cook it as one piece, roasted in the oven with crunchy crackling ( which we always fight over ). Another favourite way is marinated in asian flavours and grilled on the BBQ.
My father used to enjoy it the Malagasy way: cubes of meat, slow cooked in their own fat with the addition of garlic and ginger. Served simply with steamed rice, that was his idea of heaven on a plate.
I have always liked the technique of slow cooking meat in its own fat. Not only does it turn out unctuous, with a rich undiluted flavour but it is most time effective in a “set and forget” kind of way. I don’t own a slow cooker, trusting my 40 year old pressure cooker instead. It has followed me from France, crossing oceans and driven all over Australia!
This recipe follows that technique, with the infusion of typical french flavours of garlic, onions and thyme.
Having recently returned from a very long road trip, I foraged in the pantry and discovered a jar of mushroom truffle sauce as well as a packet of gnocchi. What an interesting pairing it would make, I thought. So here is it: the most delicious “melt in the mouth” pork pieces served with soft pillowy gnocchi and a heady mushroom truffle sauce. It is quite a rich dish, that benefits from the addition of raw celery for a bit of crunch and freshness.
Braised Pork Belly with Celery
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
1 kg (2 pounds) pork belly cut into 2.5cm (1”) cubes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 brown onion, chopped
1 tbsp thyme
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 celery stalk, sliced
Potato gnocchi
Directions
- In the pressure cooker, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high. Add 1 pound of pork, and stir until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. Repeat with remaining meat, adding more oil as needed. Return all the meat to the pressure cooker.
- Add garlic, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until pork is very tender, about 30mn.
- When the pork is cooked, prepare the gnocchi as per packet instructions ( it should only take a few minutes ). Drain and transfer to a saucepan. Add the truffle sauce, raw celery slices, stir thru and warm slightly.
- Serve with gnocchi and a sprinkle of celery leaves.
Your pork does look ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ . . . have never prepared it with celery and am trying to pretend-taste looking at your plate! Love slow cooked meals . . . and hope you will tell us at some time about your road trip . . .
It was soooo tender!! The road trip…lots to tell, still going thru the notes and pics. But soon…