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Pork belly with leek champ

Gary Rhodes from Gary Rhodes' Local Food Heroes
Belly of pork makes a great cheap roasting joint - here Gary Rhodes serves it with buttery mashed potatoes

Pork belly with leek champ

Method

1. For the pork: preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3.

2. Put the pork on a baking tray, score the skin of the belly with a sharp knife and rub the oil and salt all over. Roast for 1 - 1 ½ hrs until golden-brown and cooked all the way through - the juices should run clear when the meat is pierced with a skewer.

3. Remove the pork from the oven, cover with aluminium foil and leave in a warm place to rest for about 10 minutes.

4. For the champ: boil the potatoes until tender in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash with a potato masher or ricer until smooth, stir half of the butter into the potatoes.

5. Heat the remaining butter in a large frying pan, add the leeks and fry until softened, but not coloured.

6. Fold the leeks into the mashed potato.

7. Carve the pork into slices and serve with the hot leek champ.