Nigel Slater’s grilled pork belly, spring onions and quick romesco recipe

The recipe

Toast 50g of flaked almonds in a dry frying pan until golden. Drain a 350g jar of red peppers then put them in a blender, add the almonds, 1 tbsp of sherry vinegar and 5 tbsp of olive oil. Process until you have a thick, rough and orange-red paste. Check the seasoning (salt, vinegar, pepper) then set aside.

Warm a griddle pan. Season, oil then lightly brown 450g of pork belly slices (approximately 15cm in length and 4cm thick) on both sides. While the pork is cooking, toss 200g of slim spring onions in olive oil then put them on the grill turning them regularly. They should blacken here and there.

Spoon some of the pepper sauce on to plates, add the grilled onions and the pork steaks. Enough for 2.

The trick

Brown the pork thoroughly on both sides, then lower the heat under the griddle and continue cooking until the meat is cooked right through, turning from time to time. Depending on the thickness of the pork and the heat of the griddle, it should take about 6 minutes per side. (I like my pork slightly pink in the middle.) It will benefit from a brief rest of 5 minutes before eating.

The twist

We also tried this recipe with aubergine replacing the pork and it worked very well. The slices of aubergine, about 1cm thick, were salted and left for 30 minutes before grilling, to give a softer, silkier result. After cooking we brushed them with garlicky olive oil.

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