Pork Belly with Beans and Pistou

Pistou is a French sauce made simply with garlic, fresh basil and olive oil. It's perfect for spooning over this dish of slow-cooked pork with silky cannellini beans

Ingredients

• 200g dried cannellini beans
• 8 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1kg pork belly, skin scored
• 4 long shallots, halved
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 800ml chicken stock
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 lemon, sliced

PISTOU

• 1 garlic clove
• basil leaves
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

• STEP 1

  The night before cooking the pork, put the dried beans into a large bowl with the garlic cloves and bay leaves, then pour over 2 litres of cold water, cover and leave at room temperature overnight. Also remove the pork from its wrapping and sprinkle heavily with sea salt flakes. Put into a roasting tin, uncovered, and into the fridge overnight.

• STEP 2

  Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and leave the pork at room temperature for 30 mins while the oven heats. Tip the shallots into the roasting tray and pat the pork skin dry, then drizzle lightly with oil, getting into all the scores on the skin. Roast for 1 hr until the skin is beginning to get really crisp. Drain the beans through a fine sieve.

• STEP 3

  Remove the pork from the oven and turn down the temperature to 170C/150C fan/gas 2. Put the beans around the pork, being careful to avoid the skin, then pour in the stock and add the fennel seeds and sliced lemon. Roast for 3 hrs until the pork is meltingly tender and the beans are soft. Remove from the oven, loosely cover and leave to rest for 15 mins.

• STEP 4

  Make the pistou by using a pestle and mortar to crush the garlic clove and a pinch of sea salt flakes to a paste. Add the basil leaves and repeat, then mix in the oil. Serve the pork and beans with the pistou.