Slow Honey Roast Belly with Pears Paul Clerehugh recipe as featured on the Nicki Whiteman Show

Paul Clerehugh is BBC Radio Berkshire’s guest chef. He is chef proprietor of the Crooked Billet, one of England’s most famous foodie pubs.

Belly for me is the best cut of pork. We tend to ignore it – favouring the loin, and leg joints. The higher the fat content, the more it tends to put people off. Really, the fat adds more flavour and gives a more succulent finish.

Paul Clerehugh

For 6 servings: 1.5kg piece of , boned, with the skin (rind) left on. 5 large onions, sliced. Olive oil Malden salt, freshly ground black pepper 4 tablespoons honey 6 under-ripe pears

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Score the belly rind with a sharp knife, about 1cm apart. Place the sliced onions in a tray and sit the belly, rind-side up, on top. Trickle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with Malden salt, plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove from the oven and baste. Continue roasting for another 1½ hours. The honey can now be poured over the joint and the oven temperature increased to 200°C.

Cut the pears into quarters, leaving the skin on, trim the core from the fruit and place the pieces around the joint.

Return to the oven and cook for a final 30 – 40 minutes until the pear has softened and the honey caramelised golden brown.

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Remove from the oven and rest the joint for 15 minutes. Cut the belly into 6 equally sized chunks and serve accompanied with the deeply caramelised onions and pear quarters.

At home, we serve this delicious slow roasted belly of pork with potato puree. Deeply delicious, ultra buttery silky smooth.

Hear more from BBC Radio Berkshire’s guest chef, Paul Clerehugh on Nicki Whiteman’s afternoon show. Tune into the food hour at 2pm on Friday afternoons.

bbc.co.uk/berkshire