Roast pork belly with fennel and beetroot tops

A few weeks ago I was sent some old spot pork from Jon Pither who works with Treflach Farm just outside of Oswestry, Shropshire, breeding rare breed pigs (www. treflachfarm.co.uk). When I opened the box I saw to my delight that it was a belly of pork on the bone with a decent covering of fat. Some rare breeds, especially with the belly cut, have a bit too much fat on them and you end up trying to render it down through long cooking or cutting it off.

This cut was perfect, especially as my partner Clare's dad, Humphrey, and her sister Jane were due for Sunday lunch. It's always best to test out a new producer on family, as they will be kind but at the same time constructive.

I bought some young beetroots with their leaves in Borough Market and couldn't resist doing something with them. You can use the beets for another dish.

1 quality pork belly, bone in, weighing about 1.5-2kg
1tbsp fennel seeds, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
600-700g beetroot tops or spinach leaves, stalks removed
3 red onions, peeled
4-5tbsp olive oil
1tbsp red wine vinegar

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Check how many bones there are on the pork belly, then make a score about cm deep into the rind through to the fat, at the point of each bone. This makes it easiet to carve the meat once it's cooked.

Place the pork belly in a large roasting tray, rind side down, and pour in a couple of centimetres of water. Place the roasting tray on the hob, bring it to the boil and let it simmer for a couple of minutes, then drain the water off and turn the meat rind side up. Season on both sides and then brush with a tablespoon of the olive oil and scatter over the crushed fennel seeds.

Cook in the oven for 45 minutes then turn the temperature down to 175C/gas mark 4 and cook for another 1 hours, basting every so often. The crackling should be nice and crisp by now; if not, turn the temperature up and cook it until it is crisp.

Meanwhile, cut the onions in half, and then each half into 3 wedges. Put the onions under the pork while it is cooking (at the lower temperature) for 30-40 minutes, then remove the onions and keep warm.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the beetroot leaves for 1 minutes and then drain well, lightly squeezing the water out. Mix the leaves with the onions, season, then toss together with the remaining olive oil and vinegar.

To serve, slice the pork through where you scored it, and serve with the beet tops on the plate or on the side.