Black Velvet

Two posts in a day? Sadly, it's less a burst of manic efficiency, more a case of being very middle-aged and spending a Saturday night at home. It's also because I want to brag - well, semi-brag - about the pork belly. It wasn't 100% successful - I shall reduce the salt suggested by a good 60% next time and my spuds, while nice and crisp these days, still won't go the Judith Chalmers shade of my nan's roasties. However, it's all learning curve, and the positives outweigh the negatives. For example, the fennel flavouring was spot on and worth the pestle & mortar-inflicted elbow strain while the Levin Sauvignon Blanc 2006 was perfect: rich fruit, crisp minerality and fat-excising acid. The even better bit? Two slices of Hebridean black pudding from Borough Market added to the pan about 30 minutes before the meat came out. After deglazing the pan with a slug more cider, I mashed the black pudding into the juices, stirred in some double cream that needed finishing up and let the whole thing simmer down a little to form a sweet, rich, meat-juice-salty sauce. Happily, there was so much left over, I've just filled an ice tray with a view to cooking a cube or two with some scallops next week. And stirring a cube in to some lentils and peas next time we do a pork belly. Well, what's the point of emptying the freezer if we can't replenish it with some useful treats in the meantime?