Ingredients
Curing the pork belly
700g piece pork belly
75g salt
35g sugar
2 black peppercorns
1 litre water
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
½ medium carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces
½ leek, white only, cut into 1 inch pieces
½ small onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
Cookingthe pork belly
1 brined pork belly
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
300ml chicken stock
Octopus
1 octopus
100ml olive oil
Dulse Pickle
125g dulse, chopped
100ml water
25ml Sauterne wine
10ml white wine vinegar
7g sugar
½ tsp salt
3 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Confit lemon
4 large un-waxed Italian lemons
100g caster sugar
5g salt
Mussel consommé
3kg mussels
1 litre white wine
100ml vegetable oil
40ml dark soy
80ml mirin
Garnish
Crispy pork skin
Sea herbs
Method
Curing the pork belly
Mix the salt, sugar and peppercorns in a large container.Heat about 250ml of the water and add the dry mixture, stirring to dissolve to make a brine.Add the remaining water, vegetables and herbsChill the brine
Remove the skin from the pork belly and reserve.Add the pork belly to the brine and refrigerate overnight.Remove the pork from the brine and brush off the extra seasoning.
Cookingthe pork belly
Place the pork in an oven safe dish with all remaining ingredients.Cook at 140°C for 4-5 hours.Once cooked, remove from oven and press overnight then refrigerate.Remove any excess fat from the top of the meat, leaving a thin layer of fat.Finish the pork belly by cutting it in straight-edged blocks.Roast on a high heat in a frying pan, skin-side down until crispy.
Octopus
Remove tentacles from the octopus.Boil the octopus whole for 1 hour 45 minutes with the olive oil.When cooked, remove from the heat and place in ice cold water to chill down.Using a small knife remove outside skin keeping suckers intact.Individually portion into 6 inch pieces.Lay on grease proof paper until needed
Dulse Pickle
Chop the dulse into 2cm pieces.Place all the ingredients, except the dulse, into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.Remove from the heat and add the dulse.Allow to cool then place in the fridge to marinate for24 hours.
Confit lemon
Cut the lemons into segments with the rind on. Mix with the sugar and salt. Wrap in tin foil and bake in the oven 40 minutes at 140°C.Chill in the fridge and then dice into chunks when ready to serve.
Mussel consommé
Heat a wok until smoking.Add the vegetable oil and once smoking add a handful of mussels and smoke with a blowtorch.Once it stops smoking, add a splash of white wine.Cover with a lid until mussels are cooked and open.Repeat until you have used all the mussels.Add the remaining white wine.Once the mussel stock has smoked, pass through a fine sieve, add the dark soy and mirin and season to taste.Hang in coffee strainer overnight and do not force through.
At RRP £25, Smile or Get Out of the Kitchen can be purchased online atwww.adamhandling.co.uk.
Young Scots chef, Adam Handling, has opened ‘Adam Handling at Caxton’ in Caxton Street SW1 and has already taken a coveted three rosettes award from the AA. An interior green wall of seasonal herbs and plants sets the tone for Handling’s complex cooking which provides simple, elemental tastes and textures through a fusion of classical and inventive techniques. The signature restaurant of the St Ermin’s Hotel, the light and airy 72-seat restaurant with private dining room overlooks the hotel’s pretty courtyard garden and offers Handling’s creative a la carte dishes and signature tasting menus for lunch and dinner.
A highly accomplished chef, Adam Handling brings his love of Asian flavours and techniques – particularly Japanese – to his kitchen. His beautifully presented dishes start with careful sourcing of top quality, seasonal ingredients, prepared in a number of different, creative ways to enhance their inherent properties and deliver real depth of flavour and harmony. The youngest person to be tipped by the Caterer magazine as one of the ‘30 under 30 to watch’ in last year’s Acorn Awards, Adam’s meticulous attention to detail was also recognised by the AA in their award of three rosettes at the 2014 AA Hospitality Awards.Adam has also been awarded British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year 2014
Restaurant Adam Handling at Caxton, St Ermins Hotel, 2 Caxton Street, London SW1H 0QW