It recently came to our attention, through the research of the Weston A Price Foundation, that there is some validity to the age-old Biblical notion that pork is not the ‘cleanest’ meat to eat (http://www.westonaprice.org/cardiovascular-disease/how-does-pork-prepared-in-various-ways-affect-the-blood). Pork fat as lard seems to be fine, but in live blood analysis, unmarinated fresh pork has been shown to aggregate (clot) red blood cells and platelets, a bio-chemical marker of chronic inflammation, which has been linked to many diseases including cancer and heart disease.

Luckily there is an easy way to prevent this unwanted side effect of consuming pork, which is to cure it, marinate it or otherwise lacto-ferment it (as in aged meats such as chorizo, salami, etc). Subjects who consumed pork in this way showed little to no change in their red blood cell formation.

Here’s a delicious new recipe which I experimented with the other day. Serves 2.

Satay Pork with Roasted Vegetables

Overnight marinade 300g of pork belly strips (preferably outdoor-reared) in a few tblsp raw (unpasteurised) apple cider vinegar, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and some tamari soy sauce.

24 hours later remove and rinse off the marinade.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) or 200C.

Put a large dollop of coconut oil in a large oven tray and leave in the oven to melt.

Meanwhile cut up the following into medium-size slices or dice:

1 large onion

2 courgettes

2 red peppers

After the coconut oil has melted, remove the tray from the oven and coat the vegetables and belly slices thoroughly in the oil.

Coat with a jar of coconut milk, and some Thai spices like lemongrass, galangal, chillies, ginger, and fish sauce. Crush some garlic and add in.

Toss it all thoroughly and cook for about 40 mins, turning and re-coating the mixture a couple of times.

Serve with white rice, fresh chopped coriander, crushed cashews, and a side salad.

Heaven!