Roasted pork belly with apple fritters, spring onion mash cakes and red wine gravy

Method
Prep:15min  ›  Cook:1hr20min  ›  Ready in:1hr35min 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C / Gas 6. Spray or wipe a little oil onto a baking tray. Rub salt, pepper and cumin into the pork belly slices and place onto the baking tray. Place the star anise on top.
2. Bake for about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender, drain and mash them with the milk, a knob of butter, salt and pepper. Stir in the spring onions. Spread the mash onto a chopping board and using a large scone cutter, cut out 4 mash circles about 1cm thick. Brush the tops with beaten egg; set aside. Set aside the remaining egg.
4. After the pork belly has baked for 1 hour, reduce the heat to 170 C, add the potato cakes and streaky bacon to the baking tray and bake for a further 20 minutes.
5. In a saucepan add the diced apple, a knob of butter, a little oil, celery salt, garlic and splash of water. Cook over low heat until the apple has mushed down and you have a smooth sauce.
6. To make the apple fritters, dip the apple slices into the reserved beaten egg, shake off excess then press into breadcrumbs. Chill until needed. Heat a saucepan with some oil and deep or shallow fry the apple fritters until golden.
7. Prepare the cabbage: In a saucepan melt a little butter over low heat. Add the cabbage and a good splash water. Wilt down with the lid on until cooked, about 5 minutes.
8. In a separate saucepan, heat the wine, Bisto (already mixed with water), salt and pepper, 1 knob butter and bay leaf. Remove baking tray from oven. Assemble dish with 2 to 3 pork belly slices in middle of plate. Take 1 potato cake, dollop with cabbage and top with another potato cake. Dollop some apple sauce on the plate and top with 2 apple fritters and a bacon slice garnish if using. If there are any meat juices from baking, add to the gravy and drizzle the gravy over the plate.

Make ahead

The potato cakes, cabbage, apple sauce and gravy can easily be made ahead and re-heated making it easy for a dinner party.