Belly of pork roasted on a nest of tomatillos recipe. Halogen oven/conventional oven recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Pork Ham Bacon Sausages | 5 comments
Making a foil nest for this dish
Tomatillos are extremely easy to grow. They are great for making salsas and sauces and they freeze well. They also do not get blight so it’s always worth growing a couple of plants if you have a greenhouse or conservatory to get some tomatoey tangy flavour if your tomato crops fail. You do need to grow at least two plants to guarantee that the fruit will set but apart from that I’ve always found them very obliging, tolerant to haphazard watering and they always give a good harvest.
I tend to freeze tomatillos, but they can be dehydrated and bottled in a hot water bath, like tomatoes, with a good dash of salt and lemon juice in each jar.
Roasted under a belly of pork the tomatillos became both sweet and tart, similar to the flavour of green tomatoes cooked in the same way. A tasty, perfect foil to the fatty and succulent meat.
I roasted this in Andrew our halogen oven, placed on the lowest rack at 160c.
Belly of pork roasted on a nest of tomatillos recipe
Ingredients:
300g joint of boned belly of pork
A large handful of tomatillos (our were popped under the pork straight from the freezer)
4 tablespoons of water
Method:
1. Set the oven to 170c (150c fan). Halogen oven users set to 160c
2. Tear off a length of aluminium foil to house the tomatillos and the joint (about 10cm larger than the joint) Pull up the sides to form a nest and arrange the tomatillos in the foil. Pour over the water. Place the nest in a shallow oven proof container – just in case the foil splits.
3. Place the joint on top of the tomatillos and rub a sprinkling of salt into the crackling. Form the foil into a snug nest around the joint, leaving the crackling exposed and ensuring that the fat from the crackling will drip into the foil nest. Roast for 4 hours.
4. Remove the pork and tomatillos to a warm place to rest (cover it with foil and a thick towel to keep the heat in) whilst you prepare your other vegetables. Pour the juices into a warm fat and lean sauce boat and serve with the pork and tomatillos.
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I really shouldn’t read your recipes before lunch – my tummy is rumbling terribly and goodness knows what’s for lunch today but it won’t be as yummy as that, of that I can be sure!
I’m planning on growing tomatillos for the first time this year, so it’s good to have a recipe other than Salsa Verde.
And thank you Paula and Fiona for the tip on number of plants- 2 it is!
Today I became a proud owner of an ‘andrew’ although I think I will name mine ‘hal’ LOL
With our impeding move to the norfolk fens in mind and the fact I am anticipating a full kitchen refit which could leave me kitchen/oven less for anything up to a months where we are buying I thought it the perfect excuse to purchase a ‘hal’ that i had been putting off for the last 6 months.
I think with the new 12ltr ‘hal’, a microwave, a double butane gas ring we used when fishing and a kettle I reckon I can rustle up most meals in a make do kitchen area.
I unpacked the box looked at everything, it came with all the rings trays skewers book etc and was on offer for 49.95 a bargain compared to some of the prices I have seen.
I reluctantly put it all back in the box but secretly wished I could start using it now but hey ho…something to look forward to in the new house!
Two summers ago, when I had a very small garden in the planter box the previous owner left, I grew two tomatillo plants. My sister in sunny California had only one; her husband, the California Certified Nurseryman, told her they don’t need cross-pollination. That is probably true, because he knows his stuff, but she still didn’t get any tomatillos. Maybe she didn’t have bees. I had lots of bumble bees that summer, and off those two tomatillo plants, I pulled twelve pounds of tomatillos, which were turned into salsa verde and canned.
I still have salsa verde. Needless to say, I didn’t plant tomatillos last year…
That is a useful piece of information that tomatillos don’t get blight. Thanks for that