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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

chocolate roast pork belly with a caramelised onion and cocoa gravy

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alarmingly blackened crackling… tasted of dark chocolate!

… one of the many things i’ve ‘learnt’ from living with a person born and bred in Lincolnshire is that sweet and savoury don’t go… as far as The Viking is concerned pudding and main course should never be served on the same plate… and this goes for everything from the humble cheese served with jam… through to the molecular salted caramel… although strangely he will make an exception for Yorkshire Pudding with jam…

… so I knew that when dear delightful Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog chose ‘savoury’ as the theme for this months we should cocoa, it wouldn’t be something The Viking would partake in… which is especially frustrating seeing that the secondary requirement for the challenge was to make the dish vegetarian…

… don’t worry I will be getting to the point… as it happens The Viking is off down to London this week so I needn’t worry, plus it gives me the added bonus of being able to eat meat without the guilt… but then I got stuck on the whole vegetarian aspect… and as the weeks have passed and all the other wonderful entries have come rolling in i’ve got myself into a spot of bother over it… until I spied two things…
one was a recipe for honey roast pork belly I saw on the BBC website and the other was for a cocoa onion gravy, which I know I saw on someone’s blog but I cannot for the life of me remember where, so do claim the idea if it’s yours… anyway… little explosions went off in my mind and here’s the result…

chocolate roast pork belly with a caramelised onion and cocoa gravy
something for me and something for you Choclette…

for the pork belly
1 large slab of pork belly (don’t ask me… I didn’t weigh it)
1 tablespoon of Mexican Orange Blossom Honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dark cocoa powder – I used Green and Blacks
plenty of sea salt

for the gravy
2 medium onions -very finely sliced

1 teaspoon of Mexican Orange Blossom Honey
1 teaspoon plain flour
1 glass white wine
1 teaspoons dark cocoa powder – I used Green and Blacks
– pre heat the oven to at least 220C
– mix the ingredients for the pork belly sauce in a bowl and then pour it onto the pork belly which is sitting in a roasting dish… rub it in to the fat and then bung it into the oven
– after 20 mins turn the heat down to 160C and let it roast for at least 2 hours… don’t worry, it will go very black but this is the honey and chocolate, it still tastes amazing!
– meanwhile heat some butter and olive oil in a pan and very gently caramelise your sliced onions… this can take anywhere up to 30 mins during which time you should add the honey to the pan
– once the onions have reduced by half and are darkly golden add the flour and stir until it has gone, then turn the heat up and add he white wine which should bubble away and then reduce by half
– sprinkle in the cocoa powder and I always cheat a little by adding a pinch of Marigold Bouillon 
… both the pork belly and the gravy were very rich and darkly divine… the crackling was alarmingly blackened by the honey but it actually tasted of very very dark chocolate… but I must say that the gravy won out just slightly for its more subtle chocolate depth… nice one Choclette!

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Comments

  1. Karen S Booth says

    Well I think hat is a STELLAR idea Dom and LOOK at that DIVINE chocolate onion gravy/sauce! FAB entry for we should cocoa, and I would love to try that!
    Karen

  6. Katy Salter @ Pinch of Salt says

    Oh my goodness! Vegetarian recipe stipulation be dammed, the world needs your chocolate roast pork belly, Dom. Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, chocolate salted caramels, Choc Dips – The Viking is missing out!

  8. From Beyond My Kitchen Window says

    I'm loving the look of that crackling. Crunch!! The onion gravy with the cocoa looks delicious as well. I have a recipe for chili that calls for a a few teaspoons of cocoa powder. It really adds a layer of depth to the recipe.

  9. debby emadian says

    I don't eat red meat Dom but this caramelised onion and cocoa gravy looks and sounds delicious…and I think it would work with chicken or even puy lentils…mmm…

    …but I din't know that Vikings came from Lincolnshire…mind you I was never that good at geography….

  13. laura@howtocookgoodfood says

    This is heaven! Who could resist a meal that includes two of my favourite foods, pork & chocolate. I know I would love this and will be sure to make it as I can taste the chocolatey, salty crackling now :0)x

  17. Choclette says

    Ha ha, well done Dom, nicely done. I'll have to have a word with that Viking of yours when I see him though. The onion gravy looks and sounds delicious and you are a dear man for persevering.

  18. Shu Han says

    that's the most creative roast pork belly flavour I've come across so far! sounds simply amazing. who says you can't have your roast pork and dessert all at a go 😉

  19. Javelin Warrior says

    As soon as I saw the post title I knew it would be for We Should Cocoa – and I LOVE the result. Quite frankly, both the pork and onions deserve recognition cause they both look and sound amazing. I know it's supposed to be all veggie this month, but still. Just saying. Now let me go drool in private =)

  21. The KitchenMaid says

    You are too bloomin' clever by 'alf, aren't you? I am completely bereft of any good idea for WSC this month, to the point where I am wondering if chocolate peanut butter qualifies as 'savoury'. No? Hmm, didn't think so… happy weekend to you x

  22. Fabulicious Food says

    Clever Dominic! A brilliant idea and I love that you came up with a recipe that incorporated the chocolate/savoury/vegetarian angle alongside a lovely slab of meat! Genius. I must say, this one had me stumped, so I take my hat off you you and will learn from the Masters!

  23. Susan Lindquist says

    Now THAT is a creative twist on mole! I especially love the idea of that blackened cocoa crust on the outside of the pork belly … a shredded and crunchy bite of pork heaven! Just imagining dragging a forkful through that gravy … well, I bet it was incredible!

    You clever devil, you!

  26. Michael Toa says

    Ah-Mazing Dom! I've been looking forward to this since you mentioned it on twitter. You could have invited me you know… 🙂 Very creative use of cocoa. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

  28. Suelle says

    I've deleted my earlier comment, as I clearly didn't read the post properly. This dish is a really daring experiment – I hope it tasted as good as it looks!

  34. Javelin Warrior says

    Dom, I know I've already gushed over how much I love this combination, but I wanted to drop back and let you know I am featuring this post in today's Friday Food Fetish roundup (with a link-back and attribution). Please let me know if you have any objections. It's always a pleasure following your food…