Pan con Chicharrón

Ingredients

• 800 g pork belly, skin on, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 400 ml water
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled
• 300 ml vegetable oil for frying
• 2 red onions, finely sliced
• 1 ají limo or red chilli, finely sliced
• juice of 3 limes
• small handful coriander, chopped
• 4 crusty bread rolls

Before you cook

• Cut the pork belly into chunks about 4 cm across, leaving the skin attached.
• Crush the garlic cloves and rub them over the pork with the salt and pepper.
• Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them into rounds half a centimetre thick.
• Slice the red onions as finely as possible and rinse them under cold water.
• Chop the coriander and slice the chilli into thin rings.

Steps

1. Put the seasoned pork belly and the water into a wide heavy pan.
2. Bring the pan to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.
3. Keep cooking until the water has gone completely and the pork sits in clear rendered fat.
4. Raise the heat to medium and fry the pork in its own fat for 15 minutes, turning the pieces, until the skin blisters and cracks.
5. Lift the pork onto kitchen paper and let it rest for 5 minutes.
6. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan to 170C.
7. Fry the sweet potato rounds for 4 minutes, until the edges caramelise and the centres soften.
8. Drain the sweet potato on kitchen paper and salt it lightly.
9. Shake the rinsed onion dry and toss it with the chilli, lime juice, coriander and a good pinch of salt.
10. Slice the rested pork into thick pieces, skin and all.
11. Split the bread rolls and lay sweet potato rounds along the base of each one.
12. Pile the pork on top of the sweet potato.
13. Finish each roll with a generous tangle of the onion salsa and serve at once with coffee.