Stegt Flaesk med Persillesovs

Ingredients

• 800g pork belly, rind removed, cut into 5mm slices
• 1.2kg small waxy potatoes
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 600ml whole milk, warmed
• 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley (about 60g)
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• White pepper
• Pickled beetroot, to serve

Before you cook

• Ask the butcher for the belly sliced 5mm thick, or slice it yourself with a long sharp knife while it is fridge-cold.
• Pat every slice dry on both sides with kitchen paper.
• Salt the slices lightly on both sides and leave them on a rack for 15 minutes.
• Scrub the potatoes and leave the skins on if they are thin.
• Pick the parsley leaves from the stalks and chop them finely, about 6 tablespoons packed.

Steps

1. Put the potatoes in a large pan, cover them with cold salted water and bring to the boil.
2. Simmer the potatoes for 18 to 22 minutes until a knife slides in with no resistance, then drain and keep them covered.
3. Heat your oven to 220C fan and set a wire rack inside a large roasting tin.
4. Lay the pork slices flat on the rack in a single layer with a small gap between each.
5. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn every slice over with tongs.
6. Roast for another 12 to 18 minutes until the slices are deep gold, buckled and crisp at the edges.
7. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it foams.
8. Stir in the flour and cook the paste for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, without letting it colour.
9. Pour in the warm milk a splash at a time, whisking each addition smooth before adding the next.
10. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, whisking often, until it coats the back of a spoon.
11. Season the sauce with salt, white pepper and a generous grating of nutmeg.
12. Stir the chopped parsley through the sauce and take the pan off the heat straight away so the colour stays bright.
13. Pile the hot potatoes onto warm plates and crush them lightly with a fork.
14. Ladle the parsley sauce over the potatoes.
15. Stack the crisp pork on top and serve at once with pickled beetroot.