Pork belly with potato and cabbage mash (trinxat de la Cerdanya)

Trinxat means mash and and this version is called trinxat de la Cerdanya because it comes from la Cerdanya, a region in the north of Catalonia. In fact half of it is in France, half of it in Catalonia. Both of them share this heritage of farming cuisine, with dishes like these.

Credit: The Latin Kitchen

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

This is a great rustic dinner, served with a generous piece of golden pork belly sitting on a bed of mash, but it can also be served as bite-sized appetisers, as shown.

Ingredients

• 1 small head green cabbage, cored and chopped
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces (see Note)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 450 g (16 oz) smoked or cooked pork belly, sliced into 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes (or cook as four large pieces – see Note)

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine potatoes and cabbage and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook the cabbage and potatoes for 15-18 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain cabbage and potatoes and set aside. 

2. Heat 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden. Add potatoes and cabbage, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring and mashing the potatoes constantly. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat remaining oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cubes of pork belly to the pan sear for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown on the first side. Turn pork belly and repeat until all sides are seared. Remove both pans from heat.

4, Serve seared pork belly with mashed potatoes and cabbage (and ketchup, optional). 

Note

• Starchy potatoes give the best mash – try Coliban,  or all-rounders like Desiree or Sebago. 

• If you’d like to serve this as a meal, rather than an appetiser, cut the pork belly into single portion sizes. Brown it on all sides until golden, and set aside to rest while you use the same pan to fry the garlic, then adding the cabbage and potato.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

This is a great rustic dinner, served with a generous piece of golden pork belly sitting on a bed of mash, but it can also be served as bite-sized appetisers, as shown.