Cola-braised Pork Belly, Caramelized Celery, Fondant Squash, Roasted Baby Turnips, Shelled Peas, Miso Mustard and Dashi Pearls

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts, soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

• 20cm/8in dried konbu
• 10 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 litre/1¾ pints low-mineral bottled water, or softened tap water
• 50g/1¾oz katsuobushi
• 500g/1lb 2oz pork belly
• 450ml/16fl oz cola
• 300ml/10fl oz dashi
• 150ml/5fl oz soy sauce
• 150ml/5fl oz Worcestershire sauce
• 5 tbsp red wine
• 7 tbsp mirin
• 2 star anise
• 1½ tsp yeast
• 1 stick celery
• 100g/3½oz caster sugar
• 50ml/2fl oz water
• 1 tsp yuzu juice
• 1 small red kuri squash
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100g/3½oz butter
• about 100ml/3½fl oz dashi
• about 100ml/3½fl oz red wine
• 20 baby turnips
• 2 tbsp walnut oil
• sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 60 peas
• 250ml/9fl oz dashi
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 50ml/2fl oz white vermouth
• 100ml/3½fl oz dashi
• 1 free-range egg
• 2 tbsp walnut oil
• 30g/1oz parmesan
• 100ml/3½fl oz dashi
• 2 tsp shoyu
• 2 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp yuzu juice
• pinch sodium alginate
• 10g/¼oz food grade calcium chloride
• shiso cress
• salad cress

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

1. Soak the konbu and dried shiitake in 1 litre of water for 1 hour. Heat slowly until just below a simmer, remove the konbu, then add the katsuobushi, steep 10 minutes and strain. Keep it warm.

2. Cut the pork belly into large pieces, season with sea salt, and sear in olive oil until browned. Add the star anise, cola, soy sauce, Worcestershire, red wine, mirin and 300ml dashi. Simmer gently, covered, for 2 hours until tender.

3. Cook until tender and the pork reaches at least 145°F (63°C), then rest 3 minutes. Reduce the braising liquid until glossy and spoon it over the pork.

4. Peel and cube the red kuri squash, toss with butter and 250ml dashi, and cook covered over low heat until soft. Finish with sea salt and white pepper, and grate parmesan over the top.

5. Trim the celery into batons, sear in butter, then add the 50ml water, 100g caster sugar, 50ml vermouth, the 100ml of dashi and red wine. Reduce until sticky, then add the yuzu juice.

6. Halve the baby turnips, toss with walnut oil, sea salt and white pepper, and roast at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes until golden. Blanch the peas in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain.

7. Whisk the white miso, Dijon mustard and 100ml dashi together, then stir in the yeast and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.

8. For the pearls, whisk the sodium alginate into 100ml dashi with the shoyu, mirin and yuzu juice. Separately, dissolve the calcium chloride in water. Drip the dashi mixture into the calcium bath, rinse, and keep chilled.

9. For the crumb, beat the egg with grated parmesan and walnut oil, spread thinly on a tray, and bake at 180°C (350°F) until set and golden. Break it up and serve with the pork, squash, celery, turnips, peas, pearls, and both cresses.