Ingredients:
1 whole New Zealand Champagne Ham
1 cup pomegranate juice

4 Tbsp cranberry jelly

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Peel and juice of 1 orange

2 cloves

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
1. Carefully remove the skin from the ham, ensuring to leave all of the fat behind to maximise flavour. Using a sharp knife, score the fat in a criss-cross pattern.
2. To make the sauce, place the remaining ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for further 10 minutes on low, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn. Using a pastry brush, paint a third of the sauce over the ham.
3. Place the ham in a deep baking tray and cook in the oven for 1-1.5 hours.
 While the ham is cooking, return the rest of the sauce to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and using a fork, take out the star anise, cloves, orange peel and cinnamon stick. Allow the sauce to cool and thicken to a jam-like consistency.
4. Once the ham is cooked, rest covered with foil for 10 minutes. To serve, slice thick pieces and drizzle over the cranberry sauce.
Recipe courtesy of pork.co.nz

Double Smoked Pork Belly Lardons and Potato Galette

Serves 4-8
Prep time: 30mins
Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:
300g double smoked pork belly, sliced into strips and cut into chunks
1 roll of all butter flaky pastry (I used Paneton)
150g crème fraiche
1 garlic clove, grated
4 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
100g butter
4 sprigs of thyme or rosemary

Method:
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
1. Line a large rectangle baking dish with baking paper.
2. Cut corners of pastry to make a rounded rectangle and lay this on the baking paper.
3. Spread crème fraiche and garlic over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border.
4. Sprinkle half the pork belly lardons on to the crème fraiche.
5. Layer thinly sliced potato around the pastry, to create an overlapping pattern, leaving the 3cm border clear.
6. Sprinkle lardons and herbs over the potato. Dot butter over the top and bake for 40 minutes or until both potatoes and pastry have cooked through. (If the top starts to brown too much, place some foil over it to stop any burning).

Double Smoked Pork Belly Taco with Pineapple Salsa

Serves 6
Prep time 30mins
Cook time 3 hours

Ingredients:
640g double smoked pork belly
2 white onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground black pepper
2½ cups apple juice

Method:
Preheat oven to 160˚C.
1. Slice pork belly into 2cm slices and then cut into 2cm batons (strips). Place pork into a bowl and sprinkle with spices and pepper.
2. Slice onions thinly and place on medium heat with a little olive oil and sauté until tender. Add garlic and pork belly and cook for a further 2 minutes.
3. Transfer into an ovenproof dish, add apple juice and cover with lid or tinfoil and bake for 2 hours. Remove lid after 2 hours, stir and cook uncovered for a further hour. The juice should have reduced down and thickened to a sticky consistency.
NOTE: double smoked pork belly is well seasoned, taste your cooked mix before adding any extra salt and adjust to taste (whether that’s salt or a little lime juice for acidity).

Pineapple salsa ingredients:
1 pineapple
½ red onion, finely diced
1 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, grated
pinch of salt

Method:
1. Cut pineapple into small even cubes (no bigger than 1cm – the smaller the better) and put into a medium bowl.
2. Add red onion, coriander, zest and juice of the lime, garlic and salt and gently mix together.

To make your taco, you will need some soft shell tortillas (heated) fresh coriander, avocado, fresh lime and some fresh chili (or chili flakes) to taste. Arrange the pork on the tortillas with the pineapple salsa on top, along with chopped coriander, avocado slices, chili and a squeeze of lime juice. Don’t forget the margaritas!

Double Smoked Pork Belly Spanish Stew

Serves 4
Prep time 30 mins
Cook time 2 hours

Ingredients:
600g double smoked pork belly, cut into 4 even slices
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely cut
2 chorizo, roughly cut
2 tins of cannellini beans
600ml Passata
1 tsp ground pepper
2 Tbsp maple syrup
12 sprigs of fresh thyme (small bunch)
120g baby spinach

Method:
Preheat oven to 160˚C.
1. Heat a pan to a medium temperature with olive oil and sauté carrot, onion, celery, garlic and chorizo until veges have softened and started to colour.
2. Drain cannellini beans and add to pan, along with passata, pepper and thyme, gently mix through and turn off heat. Note: double smoked pork belly is well seasoned, taste before adding any extra salt.
3. Transfer mixture into an oven-proof dish and lay the pork belly slices on top of the bean mix, cover with foil and bake for one hour.  
4. After one hour remove the foil, drizzle maple syrup over pork and continue to bake for 45 minutes.
5. Add spinach to dish (push into bean mix and under pork) and finish off cooking for 15 minutes until spinach has wilted.
Serve with extra thyme and parsley to finish.

Crispy Pork Belly

1-1.2kg pork belly, skin scored
ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2-3 sage leaves
2-2½ cups milk

Method
Preheat oven to 240˚C. Pat the skin of the meat dry and season the flesh side with pepper and half the salt. Sprinkle the sage leaves on the bottom of a metal baking dish (do not use a glass or ceramic baking dish as it might shatter when you add the milk) and put the pork on top, skin side up. Season the top with the remaining salt.

Roast for 20-30 minutes at 240˚C until the skin is starting to blister and crackle. Watch closely for burning.

Pour the milk around the meat to come about half to two thirds of the way up the sides of the pork. Reduce the heat to 160˚C and roast for a further 1½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender. Check the level of liquid during cooking and if it has evaporated add a little more to the pan.

Remove the pork from the oven, lift it out of the dish and allow it to cool. Discard the liquids (they will break into curds).

For easy cutting, place the meat flesh side up on a chopping board and use a heavy, sharp knife to cut it into slices about 3-4cm thick. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe courtesy of Annabel Langbein.

Bacon Pies

1 tbsp oil
5 rashers (100g) streaky bacon, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
250 g sliced mushrooms
600 g boneless chicken thihs, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.5 tbsp flour
4 sheets butter puff pastry
1 egg yolk, lightly whisked

Method
Heat oil in frying pan and cook bacon, mushroom and onion until onion is tender. Add chicken to the pan and cook until golden.
Pour over white wine and allow to boil and reduce by half. Add chicken stock, thyme and season with salt and pepper. Gently simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked and sauce has reduced. Thicken as needed with flour mixed in cold water, ensuring the sauce is not too runny for a pie.
Remove chicken mixture from heat, transfer to a shallow dish and refrigerate until completely cold.
Preheat oven to 200C. Line 5 pie dishes (approximately 1 1/4-cup capacity) with puff pastry. Spoon in cooled filling and top with pastry, seal edges well and prick the top with a fork or sharp knife. Brush pastry with egg yolk and cook for 20 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden.

Roast Chicken

1.8 kg fresh chicken, wings removed
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 whole lemon, cut in half
2.5 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 cup butter, soft
8 rashers smoked streaky bacon
1 cup water

Method
Create a double layer sheet of tinfoil, large enough to completely wrap the chicken. Don't worry about the overhang, or there being gaps in the foil.
Place the chopped onions and whole chicken onto the tinfoil in a roasting pan, then place the two lemon halves into the chicken cavity together with the sprigs of rosemary.
Cover the breast and legs with a coating of butter and overlap the strips of bacon neatly over the breast and thighs. Now gather up the sides of foil and bring together, creating a kind of envelope.
Add 1 cup of water into the bottom of the roasting pan and place chicken into a preheated oven at 220C for 20 minutes. Then turn oven down to 165C to continue roasting for a further 1 hour.
Remove chicken from oven and remove as much tinfoil as possible. Now baste the whole chicken well with the butter and roasting juices, then return to the oven to colour. Finish cooking for a further 20 to 25 minutes. Baste well every 10 minutes until golden.

Bacon Caesar Salad

SERVES 6
2 cups cubed day-old bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
Dash pepper
Salad
1 lettuce
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Method
In a large fry pan, cook bread cubes in oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Remove to paper towels; cool.
For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, anchovy paste and pepper. In a serving bowl, combine romaine and bacon. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with croutons and cheese.

Bacon, Broccoli Salad

SERVES 8
8 slices bacon
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 large head broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons white sugar
ground black pepper to taste

Method
Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. Crumble 7 slices of bacon; mix with sunflower seeds in a resealable bag.
Combine broccoli, onion, and grapes in a bowl.
Crumble the remaining bacon slice. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and black pepper together in a bowl; fold in the 1 slice crumbled bacon. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture; toss to coat evenly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for flavors to blend, about 2 hours.
Sprinkle bacon-sunflower seed mixture over salad before serving; mix well.

Bacon & Egg Pie

SERVES 6
500g Flaky puff pastry
1 1/2 cups middle or shoulder bacon, chopped into small pieces
6 spring onions, finely chopped
6 eggs
3 tablespoons tomato-based chutney or relish
a splash of milk to glaze the top

Method
Preheat the oven to 210C and line a rectangular brownie tin or similar dish (measuring around 20cm x 30cm) with baking paper.
Line the bottom of the pan with the pastry, making sure it comes up the sides of the tin. Scatter the bacon and spring onions on top. Grind over lots of pepper and a pinch of salt.
Lightly whisk the eggs together, just to break the yolks up, and stir in the chutney. Pour this mixture over the ham and onions.
Top with a sheet of pastry and crimp the edges. Prick the lid a few times with a fork and brush it with milk.
Bake for 35 minutes, until the pastry is risen, golden and cooked through.