Honey-glazed smoked bacon with mint pea puree and mint sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g smoked bacon in one piece, without rind
• 100 g honey, liquid
• 20 ml vegetable oil
• 150 ml malt vinegar
• 150 g sugar
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 200 g peas (split peas)
• 150 g butter
• 1 onion(s)
• 3 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 stalks of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 100 ml white wine vinegar
• 700 ml chicken stock or ham stock
• 4 tbsp mint leaves
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

an English pub dish

Place the bacon, fat side up, in a greased roasting pan. Brush the fat side with honey and roast in an oven preheated to 180°C for just under an hour. Brush with more honey every five minutes to gradually form a thick, dark honey glaze. Check frequently toward the end of the cooking time to prevent the honey from burning. Let it rest for a quarter of an hour before slicing. While the bacon is in the oven, you can take your time preparing the pea puree and sauce. For the sauce, simply heat the malt vinegar with the sugar and chili flakes until the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool, add the mint leaves and briefly puree with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finely dice the onion and sauté in half of the butter until translucent. Add the well-rinsed split peas, the herb sprigs and the bay leaves, pour in the vinegar and let it reduce almost completely. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, until the peas are tender. Remove the herbs, add the mint, and the remaining half of the butter. Blend until smooth with a hand blender. Add a little more stock or water if desired. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, cut two slices from the narrow side of the bacon per serving. Place two tablespoons of the cold mint sauce on the plate and serve with a portion of the pea purée.