Pistachio and Olive Stuffed Pork Belly

Add some flair to your next Sunndy family meal with this succulent and crispy pork belly stuffed with toasted pistachios, green olives and herbs. Paired with soft, sweet apple and fennel for a well-rounded meal and it's a sure-fire winner for any special occasion. Add other vegetables (onions, mushrooms, squash and tomtoes) to the fennels and use pears or quince instead of apples if you like. Next time I will cut down the fennel seeds to 1 teaspoon or even leave it out completely and season the pork skin just with sea salt.

Pistachio and Olive Stuffed Pork Belly

adapted from Taste


1.2-1.5 kg Boneless pork belly, scored 50 g Unsalted butter, at room temperature 60 g Roasted pistachio kernels, finely chopped 120 g Green olives, pitted, finely chopped 1 tbsp Lemon rind, finely grated 15 g Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped 2 Garlic cloves, crushed Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper	2 Fennel bulbs, thickly sliced Olive oil ½ tsp Dried thyme 1½ tbsp Sea salt flakes 1 tbsp Fennel seeds, crushed 250-300 ml White wine (chicken stock or water) 1-2 Apples, cut into wedges Fresh herbs, to garnish

Use paper towel to pat the pork belly dry, particularly the skin. Starting from one short end of the pork belly and using a sharp knife, make a cut along the centre of the flesh to form a pocket, being careful not to cut all the way through.
Combine butter, pistachios, olives, lemon rind, parsley and garlic in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Push the pistachio mixture into the pocket, spreading evenly. If time allows, place the pork belly in a baking tray to dry up in the fridge, uncovered, overnight or up to 3 days. This helps the skin dry out for crispy crackling. Remove pork from fridge an hour before cooking. This will help the meat cook more evenly.
Preheat the oven to 230C/450F. Place the fennel in a single layer in a roasting pan. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over. Season with the dried thyme, salt and pepper. Toss until well coated in oil.
Brush the pork rind liberally with olive oil. Season the pork belly with sea salt flakes and fennel seeds, both meat and rind, pushing into the scored rind. Brush the rind with more oil.
Place pork, skin side up, on top of fennels. Roast pork for 30-40 minutes or until skin is crispy. Lower the oven temperature to 180C/350F. Pour white wine around the pork in the pan. Cook for a further 2 hours, adding the apple for the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
Cover and set aside for 15 minutes to rest before carving. Garnish with fresh herb. Cut pork into thick slices and serve with fennels and apples.

4 comments:

Brian's Home Blog 20/4/26 01:12: That sure is such a good combination of flavors!
Tom 20/4/26 02:24: ...Angie, this looks like a delicious treat!
foodtravelandwine 20/4/26 03:21: It looks delicious!....that crust is wonderful!........Abrazotes, Marcela
Anonymous 20/4/26 03:43: Looks good-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com