On a random saturday afternoon drove myself to Sierra on mombasa road next to Panari hotel. The brewery is in a massive warehouse, the brasserie & lounge are set in the front corner. The decor is really great, minimalist & understated. In one corner is a glass wall through which you can see all the brewing gizmos. Great beer geek porn. It was very quiet when I got in, only eight other customers present then it was 4pm, Kenyans probably show up at more fashionable hours.

All those shiny vats containing liquid gold, I would love a tour of the brew operation. I should call & ask sometime or if Sierra brewmaster is reading this, how about a tour?

Porter to wet my throat as I browse the menu. The menu is not to big which is good, too much choice is bad for the diner & hell for the chef. The chef presents a pretty global menu, though Thai seems to be his biggest influence. Cuisines represented Moroccan, Spanish, Cypriot, Chinese, Malaysian, British & French. Almost all the desserts are classic French. Nothing Kenyan per se, but what is kenyan cuisine anyway? Kaasa asked this question a while back on her blog

I was not really hungry, so I had two starters & a dessert.

The twice-cooked pork belly with caramel tamarind sauce was beautifully presented & flavourful, if it were less sweeter or more spicier it would be perfect. The potato puree was heavenly, I wanted more.

The spanish influenced potato, bacon & brie croquettas was cooked to perfection & presented beautifully. Loved the garnish not 100% sure what it was, think it was pickled red capsicum, grated parma cheese & some mint oil(you can’t see it in picture). Should have asked the chef.

My dessert was a trio of chocolate desserts. A dark chocolate cake which I totally loved. The mocha ice cream which is bought in, was ok. The white chocolate cheese cake with a fruit coulis(can’t remember what it was) was great.

After my meal, I got to thank chef Eric personally for his great food. He trained at Utalii college and has years of experience working around Kenya & overseas.

I really loved the experience at Sierra, I’m definately heading back there with all my mates for dinner & beers. You should head over there too.

I think Anthony Bourdain once said pork belly is the poor man’s foie gras, he was right on the money. Pork belly is sandwich of lean meat & pork fat, it so sinful & tasty. I fell in love with roast pork belly in Thailand 4 years ago. When every other sunday, I would go to the food court/market on the ground/basement level of Seri Center in Bangkok and indulge in lots of piping hot roast pork. Going off-topic another great snack I loved was deep fried chicken cartilage, the white bits on the bone between thigh & drumstick, this cartilage is battered & deep fried. Oh yeah a sinful crunchy treat, I am a nose to tail eater, why waste any part of an animal that has given its life for you.

Now about this dish. The pork belly & puy lentils taste are so good together, the sauce was made from roasting juices & pineapple juice added some sweetness to the salty pork. The little carrot dice in the lentils which I added just for colour actually works well, carrot flavour pops in every other spoonful of the lentils. This was a real hearty trencherman’s lunch.

This is how I did it.

Pork Belly

• Pork belly, I took off the skin on because it was too bristly & I had no blowtorch to singe it
• Few sprigs of thyme
• 1 Garlic bulb
• 1 Onion
• Pineapple juice
• Salt
• Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Score the top of pork belly with knife, just cut through fat layer. Then rub on some olive oil & salt
3. Cut garlic bulb & onion into half, lay them on roasting pan allow with the thyme, this forms the bed for resting the pork.
4. Lay the pork on top of the garlic, onion & thyme.
5. Pour pineapple juice to cover bottom of roasting pan.
6. Cover the pork loosely with foil, cover pork not the whole tin.
7. Roast for 90 minutes.
8. Take pork out of oven and roasting pan, let it rest to about room temperature.
9. Deglaze roasting pan with some pineapple juice & little water. Set pan juices in the fridge. Put in the fridge will solidify the fat, which you can then scheme off before making the sauce.
10. Place pork in another roasting pan. Rest another roasting pan on top of the pork, weight the top roasting pan with canned goods or whatever. Place in fridge for about 6 hours. Pressing the pork makes it look presentable.
11. When ready to serve, place pork belly in hot oven for about 8-10 minutes.
12. To make the sauce, pour the reserved pan juices into a saucepan. Reduce it down, then strain through a fine sieve. Season & it’s done. The sauce is really flavourful, its a cornucopia of pork juices, pineapple juice sweetness, thyme, garlic & onion.

Puy Lentils

• Puy lentils
• 1/2 Onion chopped
• 1 clove of garlic sliced
• Butter & olive oil
• Sprig of thyme
• 1/2 carrot finely diced

1. Melt some butter & olive oil in saucepan.
2. Sweat onion & garlic until soft.
3. Add lentils continue sweating for a minute or two.
4. Cover with water, add thyme.
5. Simmer for 35 minutes, add carrot then season with salt. Done!

Assembly

• Spoon lentils to centre of plate.
• Place pork on top of lentils, whole or sliced.
• Pour some of the sauce on top of the pork.
• Drizzle some sauce around place………

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