Vindaloush with Fungee

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:
200ml sherry vinegar
5 tbsp green seasoning
2 tsp ground allspice
4 birds' eye chillies, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds

For the Vindaloush:
2.5kg pork belly, deboned, with skin on and flesh scored
2 generous pinches of sea salt
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

For the Plantain and Coconut Fungee:
1 very ripe (black) plantain, peeled and coarsely crushed
300ml stock
400ml (1 tin) coconut milk
1 tsp Caribbean curry powder
pinch of fresh thyme leaves
300g polenta (or coarse cornmeal)
unsalted butter, for swirling
generous pinch each of salt and coarsely-ground black pepper

For the Sauce:
Pork cooking juices
left-over marinade
2 tbsp runny honey
120g cold, unsalted, butter, diced

Method:

Prepare the pork belly then set aside in a large bowl or small roasting tin. For the marinade, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the pork then use your hands to rub into the meat, ensuring that it's well coated all over. Cover with clingfilm then set aside in the refrigerator to marinate over night.

The following day, pre-heat your oven to 140°C (120°C Fan/Gas Mark 1). Remove the pork belly from the marinade and transfer to a chopping board (reserve the leftover marinade). Rub the salt into the scored skin of the pork belly.

Now set a wide, heavy-based, frying pan over a high heat until it is almost smoking-hot. Lay the pork belly into the pan folded in half, skin-side down and sear until you get a good colour all over, turning the belly so that both sides get evenly seared.

Transfer the pork belly to a roasting tin, skin-side down. Spoon a couple of tbsps of the reserved marinade over the scored flesh and season with a couple of generous grinds of black pepper.

Place the roasting tin in your pre-heated oven and roast for 3 hours, checking on the pork every hour and spooning over a little more of the marinade. When the meat is completely tender, remove from the oven, transfer the pork belly to a board, cover with kitchen foil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Whilst the pork is resting, prepare the plantain and coconut fungee. Combine all the ingredients, apart from the cornmeal and butter, to a medium saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil and simmer for about 8–10 minutes until the plantain is tender. Remove from the heat and, using a potato masher or a fork, mash the soft plantain into the cooking liquid until smooth.

Place the pan back over medium heat, then bring to a gentle simmer. Whilst beating constantly with a wooden spoon, add the cornmeal as a slow, steady, stream. The mixture will quickly come together into a very stiff kind of porridge. Keep beating the mixture for another 2 minutes, then pinch off a little piece and taste to check the texture. When ready it should now be smooth and soft. If it's not, cook and stir for a little longer before checking again. Remove from the heat.

Add a generous knob of butter and a large spoonful of the gungee into a small bowl. Swirl the bowl around, tossing the mixture around until the fungee forms a smooth ball (don't look for a perfect round result, you just want it to come together). Tip out and repeat with another spoonful of fungee and 1 tsp more butter for every other swirl.

When nearly ready to serve, take the pork cooking juices from the pan and pour into a large, wide frying pan along with the reserved marinade. Set over a medium heat and let the mixture bubble up. Add the honey along with a splash of water and bubble for a few more minutes. Finally, add the butter and bubble for another few minutes, then remove the sauce from the heat.

To serve, place the ball of fungee onto each serving plate, carve the rested meat and pour the sauce from the pan back over the succulent meat.