Preparation time
less than 30 mins
Cooking time
30 mins to 1 hour
Serves
Serves 2–4
Ingredients
For the aubergine and okra caponata
- knob of butter
- olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 medium aubergine, cut into 1cm/¼in dice
- 10 okra topped, tailed and halved
- 8g/¼oz capers
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- splash red wine
- 6 medium plum tomatoes, finely chopped
- 80g/3oz whole black olives, stones removed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- handful fresh basil and parsley leaves, to serve
For the chargrilled pork belly
- 4 slices pork belly
- 10g/1/3oz fennel seeds
- olive oil, for cooking
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the deep-fried okra
- 150g/5½oz rice flour
- 100g/3½oz cornflour
- 800ml/28fl oz sparkling water
- splash cider vinegar
- 6 topped and tailed okras
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method
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To make thecaponata, gently fry the onions and garlic in small frying pan with a little butter and olive oil. When tender and golden, remove from the heat and set aside.
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Meanwhile, warm a little more of the oil in another frying pan and gently fry the aubergine until golden-brown. Add half the okra and soften slightly. Add the capers, the cooked onions and garlic, a splash more oil and the vinegar to the pan and simmer for a minute or two.
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Add the tomatoes and wine and simmer for around 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, throw in the basil and parsley and top with a little drizzle of olive oil to serve.
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To make the chargrilled pork belly, season the pork with salt, pepper and the fennel seeds. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat and fry the pork belly slices for around 5 minutes on each side or until they are deeply caramelised and cooked through. Rest for 10 minutes.
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To make the deep-fried okra, fill a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan two-thirds full with the oil. Heat to 180C (a cube of bread should turn brown in one minute when dropped in.) CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.
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Mix the flours together in a bowl and transfer 30g/1oz to another bowl. Add the sparkling water to the main bowl and whisk well to combine. Dip the okra in the reserved flour, then into the batter and deep-fry until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
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To serve, spoon some caponata onto each plate and top with the pork belly and deep-fried okra.
