Braised Pork Belly

To paraphrase Magritte, "Ceci nest pas un plat." For those of you who slept through French (not to mention art history) class: This is not a dish. Nope. It's a versatile technique, rather, that you can use whenever you want some uber-tender, oh-so-tasty pork belly: a bone-sticking braise that can anchor all sorts of delicious dinners. It's a simple formula: combine chunks of pork belly with a cooking liquid (such as wine, stock, or soy sauce), season as you wish (but always include good ol' salt and pepper), and then add some aromatic veggies (a classic mirepoix, a bouquet of fresh herbs from the garden, the leftover shallots sitting on your countertop, whatevs.)

There are many ways to go with this one. Want a main dish to go with your killer wok-fried green beans? Toss in some soy sauce, bok choy, and garlic, and serve over steamed rice. Prefer a frenchified belly? Empty leftover white wine into the pot along with diced onions and fresh herbs. Take things in a Mexican direction by whipping up some carnitas with tomatillos, or go all Iberian on it with paprika and peppers and garlic bread crumbs. Like we said, lots of ways to go, but as long as you've got fresh belly, on-point flavor combos, and great ingredients, very few ways to go wrong.