Sous Vide Pork Belly, Mexican Rice & Egg (over a bed of Black Bean Salsa Casera)

The other day hubby and I discovered a quaint restaurant in Aptos, Ca, namely Cafe Sparrow. Right before walking through their entrance door, I spotted a dish on the menu board that caught my eyes right away, pork belly with eggs! It read so simply, yet the thought of grilled pork belly over a bed of black bean salsa, with a chipotle aioli alongside two eggs peeked my curiosity even more.

Incidentally, about a week ago hubby and I were doing our monthly run at Costco. There, amongst the many items we always manage to discover on a whim were Sous Vide Pork Belly! Unbeknownst to me that I would end up ordering pork belly & eggs about a week later.

All this to say that my craving for this dish inspired me to make my own rendition at home…

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs Sous Vide Pork Belly (purchased from Costco)

Preheat the oven to broil

1. Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange the pork belly on top.

2. Place the pork belly in the oven and broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Drain excess fat and set aside.

For the Black Bean Salsa Casera:

• 1 can organic black beans, drained

• 8 cherry tomatoes, diced

• 1/4 sliced yellow onions

• 1 Serrano chili pepper, sliced

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• 1-2 cloves garlic, mashed and chopped with skin

• 1 can Salsa Casera

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, set aside and refrigerate.

For the Mexican Rice:

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 2 ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

• 1⁄2 small yellow onion, chopped

• 2 tbsp. canola oil

• 1 cup long grain white rice

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Place stock, tomatoes, 1 clove garlic, and onion in a blender and purée until smooth; set tomato mixture aside.

2. Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; add remaining garlic and rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Gently fluff the rice with a fork.

Plating:

Serve the sous vide pork belly over a bed of black bean salsa casera (about 2 tbsps.) alongside Mexican Rice and top with a sunny side up egg. Enjoy with a garnish of freshly sliced avocados!