AS a 17-year-old would-be journalist working as a lowly office junior on Family Star at DC Thomson in Dundee, one of my weekly tasks was to scour old magazines for information to re-use for the Household Hints page. I compiled this along with the horoscope and always wrote the leading letter for the Readers’ Letters page, refreshing old ideas into new ones. This was a far cry from working on Jackie magazine, which was the dream job of many girls my age in the early 1970s, in search of love, a flat of one’s own and of course, a tall, dark, handsome stranger living across the landing. However, by having to rake through file after hefty file of dusty magazines, I did pick out and save some good recipes for myself. Today’s pork dish is one of them and it has served me well ever since, as an inexpensive family meal which everyone loves.

When I first found the recipe, I was attracted by its daft title. In those days, I had never eaten, nor heard of, pork belly strips. Apart from an occasional chop, we rarely ate pork when I was a child, other than delicious Ayrshire middle bacon. In fact, pork was not always very popular in Scotland, which is hard to understand. There are various theories, mostly stemming from Victorian Presbyterianism and associations with eating certain foods, especially in the Highlands and Islands. Shellfish was another, with some species regarded as being "unclean" or possibly, the last resort for those most poverty-stricken who had to raid the seashore for nourishment. Whatever the constraints of the past, I am delighted that pork is extremely popular today, particularly as we have very high welfare practices in pork farming throughout Scotland, ensuring that customers are buying the highest quality at all times.

Small-scale rearing of rare-breed pigs is also popular with modern crofters and some farmers. I have heard some hilarious tales of my Skye neighbours’ escapee pigs, and have been pleased to see our vegetable peelings from The Three Chimneys kitchen being put to good use for their pig food. One of our more recent local suppliers rears cross-breed pork with iron-age boar at Orbost Farm. It is less fatty, but succulent with hints of game to taste. Chef Scott Davies puts it to excellent use in several interesting dishes throughout the year, often pairing it with seafood such as scallops and langoustines. We have also sourced bacon and sausage meat from local crofters for breakfast, which is delicious to include on the menu – along with their free-range eggs of course.

Specially Selected Pork is the flagship brand of the pork industry in Scotland and this is the label to look for when buying in shops and supermarkets. All Scottish pigs are covered by the Farm Assurance Standards, which provide full traceability and the farmer’s commitment to high standards of welfare practices. Local butchers will always recommend the best quality Scottish pork and farm shops and farmers’ markets are another excellent source. From splendid joints of pork for roasting with crunchy crackling, to cured pork for bacon, ham, gammon and charcuterie, there is no end to the products available. Minced pork is a great alternative to beef or lamb for pasta dishes, meatballs and homemade burgers. Different cuts of pork are extremely versatile for all methods of cooking. A ham hough is hard to beat as the base for a hearty pot of soup, and very inexpensive. Cuts used for braising, such as the pork belly strips used in this recipe, do not take as long to cook as similar slow-cooking cuts of beef or lamb.

Apples are a natural pairing with pork. This dish is cooked in cider, but a pressed apple juice would work well as an alternative. We make more and more cider and apple juice in Scotland today, encouraged by the increasing interest in restoring old orchards and local varieties of apples. Honey and fresh thyme are another marriage made in heaven with sharp apples.

It is very easy to increase the quantities in this recipe for a big party or family gathering. I love serving this with pasta, such as tagliatelle, but plain boiled rice or creamy parsnip mash are excellent too. Jacket potatoes, or baby roasties go down a treat.

Pig-a-leekie

(Serves four)

500g pork belly strips (choose good quality, meaty ones, with any rind removed)

1 rounded tbsp plain flour

Sea salt and ground black pepper

2 tbsp Scottish rapeseed oil

2 medium onions

2 medium-size leeks

2 sticks celery taken from near the centre of the bunch, plus a few of the leaves

1 large Bramley cooking apple

16 closed cup button mushrooms

50g unsalted butter

Zest of 1 large lemon, plus juice of ½

Leaves stripped from 4 good-size sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tbsp runny flower honey

275ml dry cider or pressed apple juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C, Gas mark 5.

2. Cut pork strips into cube-like pieces approximately 3cm wide. Place on a flat plate and dust with sieved flour and seasoning. Set aside.

3. Peel and roughly chop the onions into small pieces.

4. Thoroughly wash, top and tail the leeks, removing the coarse outer layer, plus the top few cms of the green part only. Cut the prepared leek into pieces roughly similar in size to the pork.

5. Clean and chop the celery into small pieces.

6. Wash and pop out the stalks of the button mushrooms, keeping the caps whole. Discard the stalks.

7. Once the vegetables and other ingredients are all prepared, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Brown the pork pieces a few at a time in the hot oil. Remove and return to the plate.

8. Add the butter to the hot pan and when melting, add the onion, leeks and celery, stirring well to coat in the hot oil and butter.

9. Add the apple, lemon zest and thyme leaves, plus a little more salt and pepper as seasoning.

10. Return the meat to the vegetables in the pan, add the mushrooms and mix everything together. Pour in the lemon juice with the cider or apple juice and using a warm spoon, add the honey. Bring to simmering point, stirring from time to time, to incorporate the flour, which will thicken the juices.

11. Transfer the whole lot to an ovenproof casserole dish, cover with a close-fitting lid or aluminium foil and place in the centre of the oven. Cook for one hour and test the meat for tenderness. Return to the oven for a further 20 to 30 minutes if required, until just right. If making a larger quantity, the meat may take longer to cook sufficiently, perhaps up to two hours. Serve while piping hot as suggested above.

Shirley Spear is owner of The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By on the Isle of Skye www.threechimneys.co.uk