OUR FAMILY TABLE
Julie Goodwin
Random House  - NZ$60

Julie Goodwin was the winner of Master Chef Australia and part of her prize was publication of her own cook book by Random House Australia and my goodness they have done her proud with this handsome and beautifully designed book.

The book is, as Julie says in her introduction, "a simple cookbook with simple recipes, a wander through the world of the old and familiar with my family and my friends".

The Bookman is very partial to pork belly so is going to try her Slow roasted pork belly with cider-braised cabbage during the cooler months ahead. The publishers have kindly agreed to let me reproduce the recipe here, it is from pages 102-103 of the book. Looks yummy I must say.

Slow-roasted pork belly
with cider-braised cabbage
serves 4

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Using a Stanley knife or a Mickey knife, score
the rind, cutting into the fat but not into the flesh. I like to score the rind in lines about 1 cm apart.
Make sure the belly has no stray bristles on it, then rub the rind with the olive oil and massage
the salt thoroughly into it.
2 Place the pork on a rack in a roasting pan, skin side up, and roast for 30 minutes or until the
skin begins to puff up and look crisp. Pour some water into the base of the roasting pan from
time to time so the juices won’t burn.
3 Turn the oven down to 160°C (140°C fan-forced) and continue to roast the pork, uncovered,
for a further 1. hours. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 20 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, heat the extra olive oil in a chef’s pan or large deep frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until it begins to soften and
collapse. Add the cider, bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until it reduces. Season
with salt and pepper.
5 Heat the butter in a frying pan until it’s foaming, then add the apples and stir until they begin
to soften. Add the sugar and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally,
until the apples have fully softened and caramelised. Serve the pork belly in thick slices on a bed of
cabbage, accompanied by the apples.
1 kg piece of boneless pork belly
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil, extra
. green cabbage, fi nely shredded
1 cup (250 ml) apple cider
salt and pepper, to taste
25 g butter
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored
and cut into thin wedges
1 tbs sugar

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours + 20 minutes resting

You may need to ask your butcher for this cut. Pork belly is most commonly sold
as ‘pork rashers’, which are narrow strips of belly, and usually have the bone in. This recipe
requires a whole piece of belly with the bones removed. Make sure the pork skin is very dry before
scoring and cooking it. It is best to leave it uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking


Footnote:
I reckon this book will make a great wedding present or gift to someone setting up flat or new home.
There are two left now in the NZ Master Chef competition, the final is on Wedensday, 28 April at 7.30pm on TVOne. The winner will have his or her book published by Random House NZ. If it is as appealing as the Australian winner's book then it can look forward to a long stay in the NZ  best seller list.