Slow-cooked suckling pig with smoked eel, beetroot, chicory and red apple

You will need to start this recipe 2 days in advance to give the pork belly enough time to marinate, cook and set, but you can prepare some of the other elements a day or 2 in advance as well, so plan accordingly

Marinate the pork belly with the rest of the ingredients (except the duck fat) in the fridge for 24 hours

For the beetroot, preheat a water bath to 85°C. Vacuum pack the beetroot with the rest of the ingredients, then cook for 10 hours. If you don’t have a water bath you can roast the beetroot with the rest of the ingredients in a tightly wrapped foil parcel, but sous vide will yield the best results. Once cooked, leave to cool and store in the fridge until needed

For the mustard dressing, place the mustards, chilli sauce, ginger, honey and red wine vinegar in a food processor or stand mixer with a whisk attachment and mix to combine. With the motor still running, slowly drizzle in both oils, then add the tarragon and lemongrass and leave to infuse in the fridge overnight

After the pork has been marinating for 24 hours, preheat an oven to 130°C/gas mark ½. Lightly wash the marinade off the pork and place it in a deep oven tray or casserole dish. Cover with the duck fat, cover the tray or dish tightly with foil and cook in the oven for 3 hours, or until the rib bones slip away from the meat with no resistance at all. Once cooked, leave to cool in the fat for 1 hour, then carefully lift the belly out and remove all bones and cartilage

Place the pork belly on a tray, then place another tray on top. Put something heavy on top to weight it down and help it set, then leave it in the fridge for 24 hours

To make the purée, add the wine, port, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf to a saucepan and simmer until reduced by half. Meanwhile, peel, core and finely slice the apples, then caramelise them in the butter and sugar until lightly golden. Strain the wine reduction through a muslin cloth or fine sieve into the pan of apples, then cook together for 5 minutes until the apples are deep red in colour and the mixture is quite dry

Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and blitz until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve into a squeezy bottle (or covered bowl). Reserve in the fridge

Around an hour before you plan to serve, bring everything out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Cut the pork belly into 6 thick rashers, then cut the eel fillet into slices roughly the same size as the rashers. Cut the beetroot into 3cm chunks

To prepare the chicory salad, boil the water, vinegar and sugar together then remove from the heat. Drop the sliced shallots into the pickle liquor and set aside to cool

Place a large nonstick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rashers of pork belly and colour on both sides

Separate the chicory into individual leaves and place in a mixing bowl with the parsley and the beetroot. Drain the shallot rings and add them to the bowl, then season with a pinch of salt and dress with the mustard dressing to taste

To serve, arrange 3 chunks of beetroot, 6 chicory leaves and some parsley and shallot rings on the right-hand side of each plate. Add the apple purée to the top of each plate, then place a slice of pork belly on the left-hand side. Place the smoked eel on top, then use a blowtorch to briefly warm the top of the eel (just a few seconds)