How about pork belly and pico de gallo for Cinco de Mayo? 

Since my visit to Chef Roble’s restaurant, Streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn last month, where I had the most amazing adobo chicharrones, I’ve wanted to do something with pork belly. So I’m really excited to share this recipe with you. This is a spicy recipe, the adobo peppers with chipotle sauce in the marinade for the pork really packs a punch, so if this is too much heat for you, you can temper the spiciness by adding a tablespoon of agave to the marinade. If you are a real heat lover then you should add a sliced jalapeno to the pico de gallo.

A good accompaniment to this pork belly and pico de gallo would be rice, or you can slice the pork belly and stuff it and the pico de gallo into tortillas – a fantastic taco and will be a real crowd pleaser for pork lovers.

Cinco de Mayo is hardly the time to watch calorie intake so indulge and recreate my pork belly recipe.

Pork Belly and Pico de Gallo

Pork Belly and Pico de Gallo

Spicy slow roasted pork belly with lime drenched pico de gallo
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Servings: 2
Author: Viella

Ingredients

Pork Belly

  • 12 oz - 1lb pork belly
  • 1/2 cup adobo peppers with chipotle sauce
  • 1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced
  • 1/2 tsp kosher or coarse ground salt

Pico de Gallo

  • 2 large Roma tomatoes diced
  • 1 cup of corn
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1/4 tsp of kosher or coarse ground salt
  • 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime

Instructions

Pork Belly

  • Place adobo with chipotle sauce, oregano, cumin, garlic and salt into a blender and pulse until ingredients create a paste.
  • Season pork belly with paste and then place in an air tight container and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, overnight is preferable.
  • Once meat has absorbed the flavors of the marinade, transfer to a roasting tin and cover with foil.
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 1 hour.
  • Once the pork belly is cooked, remove the foil and raise the temperature in the oven to 425 and cook for a further 15-20 mins.
  • Remove from the oven once the pork belly is browned just enough before the skin becomes crispy.
  • Let the pork belly rest while you create your pico de gallo.

Pico de Gallo

  • Place tomatoes, corn, onion and cilantro in a bowl.
  • Add lime juice and season with salt.
  • Mix thoroughly and serve