How to make Slow roasted pork belly

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1. Finely score the pork rind with a very sharp blade and put onto a large plate.
2. Using a pestle and mortar, roughly grind the fennel seeds, chopped thyme leaves, salt, and garlic. Stir in the Billington’s Demerara sugar. Rub the herb and spice mixture all over the pork and set aside for 1 hour if time permits.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Put the bay leaves and onion in a medium sized roasting tin and carefully place the pork on top. Top with the remaining thyme sprigs. Roast for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 170C, fan 160C, gas 3. Continue to cook the pork for a further 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Put into a small pan with the Billington’s granulated sugar and a splash of water. Cook covered over a low heat for 10 minutes until the apple is soft and beginning to break up.
5. Spoon into a serving dish and allow to cool. (Have a taste of the apples – you may need to add a little extra sugar). After the pork has been cooking for 45 minutes, pour in enough hot water from the kettle to generously cover the base of the roasting tin – this prevents the pork from drying out.
6. Continue to cook for another hour topping up with water if necessary.
7. Remove the pork from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes before cutting into thick slices and serving with the cooked apples, mashed potatoes and spring greens.

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