Belly of Pork With Garlic, Lemon and Thyme

From the Daily Mail. It's seems a good way to use up my over abundant herb garden. I love the thought of garlic, lemon and thyme and a crisp crackling. I plan to try this soon - I have the meat in the freezer. I'm entering it now in case I lose my scrap of paper. The recipe says: serve with plenty of mashed potatoes. This needs overnight marinating. There is no indication of how many it will serve. I've made this and it was really delicious. A bit of fussying around, but worth it for a special occasion.

• Ready In: 61 hrs
• Yields: 1 roast

Ingredients

• 1 (1 1/2kg)  pork belly, piece
• 12  garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
• 3  lemons, zest of
• 2  tablespoons  of chopped thyme
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper

• For the salsa verde

• 1  bunch flat leaf parsley
• 1  bunch basil
• 1⁄2 bunch  coriander
• 2  roasted garlic cloves, peeled
• 150  ml olive oil
•  lemon juice
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Pierce the skin of the pork all over with a skewer, going through the fat but not the flesh. Pour boiling water over the skin, drain and dry well.
2. Mix the garlic, lemon zest, thyme, olive oil and salt and pepper together. Rub mixture well into the fleshy side of the pork and leave to marinade overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400Fgas mark 6. Place the pork on a wire rack skin-side up and place the rack over a roasting tin half filled with water. Sprinkle with skin with salt and roast for 15 minutes to start the crackle forming. Then reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and continue to cook for one and a half hours. Top up with water in the roasting tin as necessary.
4. Meanwhile make the salsa verde. In a food processor, mix the herbs and garlic to a paste and gradually pour in the oil so that it becomes emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper and lemon juice.
5. Increase the oven temperature to 230C/450F/gas mark 8 and roast the pork for a further 15 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, slice and serve with salsa verde.