Recipe: Nashi, pork belly and fennel salad

Nashi, pork belly and fennel salad. Photo / Babiche Martens

Serves 4

800g piece of pork belly, scored
Salt
Olive oil
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine
3 sprigs of thyme
4 cloves garlic, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
3 nashi pears
1 red onion
1 fennel bulb
1 green capsicum
1 red capsicum
2 carrots

Dressing
1 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Rub the skin of the pork with salt and oil then sear, skin side down on a hot plate or large fry pan until golden and crisp. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2 Transfer the pork to a baking dish. Pour the stock and wine around the pork. Add the herbs and garlic and season with black pepper. Cook for 2 hours then remove from the pan and let cool. Slice.

3 In a large bowl, place halved, cored and finely sliced nashi, finely sliced red onion, cored and finely sliced fennel bulb, cored and finely sliced green and red capsicum and the carrots - peeled to remove the skin, then peeled into strips. Combine.

4 Make the vinaigrette by whisking the ingredients together. Add the pork to the salad and, with your hands, mix through with the vinaigrette then plate.

* Check out Viva's brand new Facebook page, the place to find out what's hot in fashion, beauty, food, wine and design.