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Parma Ham Pork Belly with White Bean Mash and Chilli Oil

This is the second of two sponsored summer recipes that I developed with Parma Ham. Don’t miss the first one: Bream Ceviche with Parma Ham and Nectarines.

We have already spoken in depth about the meaty joy that is Parma Ham. Brief recap! Parma Ham is one of those products where you are gifted instant flavour, the work all being done by the producer before it hits your plate. It is preservative free, being just Pork + Air + Salt + Time and lessons learned from history and generations of prior producers. Parma Ham plays well with others and gifts instant depth of flavour to many things. It makes a lovely crisp jacket when you wrap other things in it, whether that is a bundle of green beans or asparagus, a lovely piece of fish or in this case pork belly.

Parma Ham is a perfect partner for pork belly

My pork belly obsession is well documented. It is a perfect roast, yes, especially when you roast it slow. It is brilliantly flexible beyond this though. I have taken to cooking smaller amounts of pork belly quicker with excellent results. This Parma Ham wrapped pork belly is a perfect example and it is so good. The ham keeps all the pork belly juices inside as it cooks, and gives it an extra deeply savoury layer.

On the side, as much as I love the humble spud and a slick plate of mash, I go for beans here. Beans also make great mash and they are especially nice for summer or Autumn. I like to use a plump butter bean (or better yet, Greek gigantes beans). Not only do they make a delicious mash, they make an instant one too. Protein rich with a hint of garlic and savouriness of rosemary. Those roasting juices from the pork belly wrapped with Parma Ham are sublime and elevate everything.

You can of course use a favourite chilli oil or one that you have at home. I provide a recipe for a simple one here flavoured with garlic and chilli. Play around, make a peppercorn oil, add herbs as it cools down (not at the beginning or they will burn). Homemade oils bring brilliant flavour. If you don’t want chilli make a simple herb oil by blending a flavourful herb (like oregano or basil) with some oil, allowing it to infuse and then pass it through a coffee filter or similar and you are good to go.

 

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Parma Ham Pork Belly with White Bean Mash and Chilli Oil
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Ingredients

    Parma Ham Pork Belly
  • 500g pork belly, skin removed cut into inch thick strips about an inch in diameter
  • Parma Ham to wrap around the pork belly strips (12-15 slices should do it)
    White bean mash
  • 500g cooked white beans (like butter beans or gigantes), or 2 drained tins of white beans
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (needles only)
  • 75ml extra virgin olive oil and meat juices
    Chilli and garlic oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 100ml neutral oil
  • 2 tbsp chilli flakes
    Seasoning
  • Sea salt
    garnish
  • flat leaf parsley
  • sliced spring onions (I used red ones here)

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 180C.
  • Lightly season each pork belly piece with some salt (and pepper if you fancy it, I also like to add a little chilli), remmebering that the Parma Ham contains salt too, so not too much.
  • Wrap each pork belly strip in Parma Ham, ensuring they are completely covered (you can leave the ends exposed).
  • Roast the Parma Ham wrapped pork belly strips in an oiled tray for 45 minutes. These also work super well on the BBQ.
  • Make your chilli oil. Put the garlic and chilli flakes in a heatproof jar or similar. Heat the oil until it shimmers and pour over the garlic and chilli and leave to infuse.
  • While the pork belly is roasting, make your mash. Make it in the last 10 minutes so it is warm (and you can stick it in the oven covered with foil for the last few minutes to keep it so). Heat through the beans by bringing them to the boil in a pot covered with water. Drain. Put the peeled garlic cloves in your blender and process until finely chopped. Add the beans, rosemary, olive oil and some sea salt and process in your blender until smooth. Add the juices from the roast pork belly strips (they are sublime!), and if needed any more oil (this will depend on your beans).
  • Serve the Parma Ham pork belly strips on top of the mash with a generous drizzle of the oil. Garnish with the spring onions and parsley.
  • Enjoy!
    • https://eatlikeagirl.com/parma-ham-pork-belly-with-white-bean-mash-and-chilli-oil/

     

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    Written by Niamh
    Cooking and travelling, and sharing it all with you.