Pork Belly Pie (Québec Tarte Salée au Flanc de Porc Confit à l'Érable)

Asian flavours invite themselves to the sugar shack. The twist? The pork belly is confit in soy sauce and maple syrup.

Pastry:
1½ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached (225 g)
1 tsp. baking powder (5 mL)
1 pinch sea salt
2 green onions, chopped
½ cup unsalted butter, cold, diced (115 g)
3 Tbsp. milk (45 mL)
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp. water, for glaze

Confit Pork Belly:
1 lb fresh pork belly, cut into ½" (1 cm) thick slices (450 g)
1 Tbsp. extra-virign olive oil (15 mL)
2 large onions, minced
6 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (90 mL)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce (45 mL)

For the Pastry:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the green onions and stir for a few seconds until finely chopped. Add the butter and mix a few seconds at a time, until it is the size of peas. Add the milk and mix again until the dough just begins to form. Remove from the robot and form a disc.

On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to 3 mm (1/8") thick. Cut the edges to obtain a square of 28 cm (11"). Transfer the dough to the plate. Fold the edges of the dough over to create a 1.5 cm (½") border. Freeze while preparing the confit pork belly.

For the Confit Pork belly:
Put the grill at the center of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, brown the pork belly slices in the oil. Remove the cooking fat and return the slices to the pan. Add the onions to the meat. Cover and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add maple syrup and soy sauce. Cover again and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and reduce until almost dry, stirring halfway through cooking. Pepper. Reserve the pork slices on a plate.

Spread the onions over the crust, then top with the slices of pork belly. Bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the pork is caramelized.

Delicious with fennel and broccoli salad.

Cook's Note: Use fresh, unsalted, unsmoked pork belly for this recipe.