ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH RED DATE CHUTNEY & ROYAL BLUE POTATOES

I try to eat local produce whenever possible. Three of the main ingredients come from reasonably close to home. The pork from Bangalow. The asparagus from the Ipswich. Royal Blue potatoes from the Lockyer Valley. The red dates had to travel a long way. They are not really dates. They are jujubes. In Mandarin I think they are called da zao. They are brilliant in a slow braised dish with pork - the kind of of dish cooked by the Hakka people, but also popular in Beijing. In this case, I used a Chinese staple in an Indian-style chutney. Royal Blue potatoes have purple skin and a thin layer of purple flesh wrapped around a creamy white core. To get the benefit of this colour, they really have to be cooked whole and unpeeled. Once done, I simply mash them with a good butter (such as Lurpak) and a little milk and salt.

ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH RED DATE CHUTNEY & ROYAL BLUE POTATOES