You will need:
- 2 lbs pork belly
- 1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons raisins
- 2 tablespoon caper
- 4 large heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 large eggplant
- 4 ounces Georgia candy roaster or butternut squash
- Fresh fennel for plating
We wanted to revisit a dish we did late fall that really pulls a lot of late harvest elements together. It’s amazing how other cultures have aligned the seasonality of ingredients so well. Preparing a meal with items that all come into readiness around the same time seems like grand design gifted from the soil.
For this month’s recipe we will once again be working with pork from Marks Family purebreds. We salted and marinated the belly in balsamic before trimming into triangles. After marinating for 24 hours, we slow roasted the pork belly in a deep roasting pan, covered, until the internal temperature was roughly 193 degrees. It’s important the meat rests on its own rendered fat and comes down in temperature slowly to reabsorb collagen and fat.
One of my favorite fall preparations is caponata. The sweet and salty flavors combine so well with fresh ripe tomatoes and the eggplant is a great sponge to mellow and marry everything together from a textural standpoint. We do several variations of the Sicilian staple that vary based on the format of a given meal. We will use olives and oregano for pan roasted fish for example, or serve caponata over toasted ciabatta with soft chevre as a canape. This pork with all its marbling and character is perfect with a hint of sweetness.
Start by simmering 1/4 cup of aged balsamic with 4 tablespoons of raisins until they are softened and their sugar has thickened the balsamic until just enough liquid is left to hold them together. Allow to cool and fold in 2 tablespoons of caper rinsed in chardonnay. In a steel sauté pan, warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil and gently fry 1 clove of shaved garlic. Once fragrant, introduce the diced eggplant and sauté until tender and the oil has been absorbed. Cool to room temperature and combine with the balsamic raisins. We then add lightly seasoned heirloom tomatoes to provide a contrast of acidity and texture. The caponata will have the most character the next day after the flavors are allowed to combine and mellow.
To tie the dish together, we pureed some roasted Georgia candy roaster squash with a touch of vegetable stock to keep the flavor of the squash intact and not introduce any more fat to the dish by way of dairy.
The pork belly is quickly sautéed in a bit of its own fat, then placed in the oven until the center is hot. I like to use a cake tester to ensure a hot center.
Place the puree in the center of a warm plate. Set the crispy pork belly on top, and scatter the caponata, ensuring a nice mix of the ingredients. We played this dish with some balsamic quickly reduced with some clover honey, some crumbled chevre for salinity and some freshly picked fennel fronds.
Thanks to Yellow Table Farms for providing the exceptional squash and garlic. Thanks to Marks Family purebreds for fantastic Beef and Pork. Thanks to our friends the Angerers for the amazing eggplant. Herbs and tomatoes were fresh from our garden.
Thanks to @Jenheine for the photography as always.
Clint Goodman
Goodman Hospitality