French Pork Belly Stew (Pot au Feu)

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg pork belly (with thin fat layer but no skin)
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 fresh sage leaves
• 3 Carrots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 Bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 2 sage branches
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 marjoram sprig
• 2 Celery stalks
• 4 shallots
• 2 leek stalks
• 0.5 small savoy cabbage
• 4 large potatoes
• 1 handful fresh parsley
• Sea salt
• ground pepper

Instructions

1. 1.

   Season the pork with salt and pepper, cover with sage leaves, roll tightly, and tie with kitchen twine.

2. 2.

   Sear the pork in sunflower oil on all sides until browned.

3. 3.

   Transfer to a large pot, add 3 liters of water, 1 tsp salt, bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour. Skim off any foam that rises.

4. 4.

   Meanwhile, wash and trim the vegetables; tie the herbs into a bouquet. Cut celery and leek into ~7 cm pieces. Peel carrots, cutting them lengthwise if desired.

5. 5.

   Peel potatoes and cut into large cubes. Slice savoy cabbage into 4-6 strips.

6. 6.

   After the initial cooking time, add carrots, herb bouquet, and garlic, then simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except parsley and let it gently stew for an additional hour. In the meantime, wash, dry, and chop parsley. Remove the pork from the broth, cut off the twine, slice into rounds, and serve on deep plates garnished with parsley.