Directions

One Day Before Cooking

1. Peel the garlic. Stem and seed the bell pepper. Add to a blender, along with half of the olive oil, the culantro, and half of the cilantro. Process until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.

2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of S&P Seasoning. Add the pork belly and massage the marinade into the meat. Cover and set in your refrigerator to marinate, ideally for 24 hours.

3 Hours Before Cooking

1. Preheat your oven to 300F.

2. Transfer the pork belly and marinade to a roasting pan and wrap with foil.
3. Roast until cooked through and fork tender, which usually takes anywhere from 2 to 3 hours.
4. Set aside at room temperature to cool.

PREP 🥒

1. Preheat a tall pot with about 2 quarts of frying oil to 350F. Make sure that your pot is large enough to leave a good 4 inches of space from the surface of the oil.

2. Deseed the Guajillo peppers. Pat the olives dry to remove as much moisture as possible.

3. Peel and cut the green plantains into 1 inch-thick rounds. Lightly season with S&P Seasoning.

4. Mince the shallot. Slice the potatoes into rounds.
5. Scrape the pan drippings from the pork belly roasting dish into a container and reserve.
6. Thinly slice the chives. Chop the remaining cilantro.

HOW TO COOK 🍳

1. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add about 1 ounce of the canola oil. Once the oil comes to a smoke point, add the shallots and saute until translucent.

2. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, cumin, and coriander and lightly stir to toast.
3. Add the kidney beans and 1½ cups of water. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are fully cooked and begin to break down, releasing their starch and making deliciously creamy beans!
4. Meanwhile, line a resting pan with paper towels. Fry the Guajillo peppers in the hot oil very quickly, then follow with the olives. Transfer onto the paper towels to drain and cool. It’s important that this happens very quickly so we do not create bitter flavors in the olives and peppers!

5. Fry the plantains until GBD (Golden Brown & Delicious). When you achieve the desired color, transfer them to the paper towels, lightly season with S&P Seasoning, and set aside to cool.

6. When the plantains have cooled slightly, use your hands to smash them down with the most love until they’re flattened to about a ¼ inch thickness. Reserve for a second fry after we finish the pork belly.

7. Heat a large sauté pan on high heat and add the canola oil. Pat the pork belly down with paper towels, and season it with S&P Seasoning once more. Once the oil comes to the smoke point, sear the pork belly on all sides, constantly basting to make sure to crisp up the skin. Once the pork belly is crispy, remove from the pan and set aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

8. Add the pork belly drippings, fried Guajillo peppers, olives, black pepper, oregano, fried garlic, and remaining olive oil to a food processor and pulse until fully incorporated. The texture will be thick. Carefully remove the roasted sofrito from the food processor and reserve for plating.

9. Fry the plantains in the oil once more until GBD. When fully cooked and crispy, rest on a paper towel and season with S&P Seasoning.

10. Time To Plate Up!: On your serving plate, place a humble helping of the beans. Slice the pork belly, skin side down, then flip and arrange the slices on top of the beans. Brush the sofrito condiment on the pork. Shingle the tostones on the plate and garnish with the sliced chives. Zest and juice the lime onto the entire plate to finish. Enjoy!!