Learn how to make this luxurious pasta dish featuring perfectly crispy pork belly paired with silky corn tagliatelle. This restaurant-quality recipe combines indulgent textures and complementary flavors for a spectacular dinner that’s surprisingly achievable at home.
Why You’ll Love This Pork Belly Pasta Recipe
This crispy pork belly with corn tagliatelle delivers a gourmet dining experience without requiring professional culinary skills. The combination of perfectly rendered pork belly with its crackling exterior alongside silky pasta coated in sweet corn cream sauce creates an unforgettable meal. Perfect for special occasions or weekend cooking projects, this dish balances rich indulgence with fresh elements for a truly satisfying dinner.
Perfect Crispy Pork Belly: The Two-Step Method
The star of this dish is the impeccably cooked pork belly, which achieves the ideal texture through a calculated two-stage cooking process. First, the pork undergoes a low-and-slow roasting phase that ensures the meat becomes fork-tender while the fat renders perfectly. By wrapping the pork in foil during this initial cooking stage, the moisture remains locked in, preventing the meat from drying out.
What truly elevates this pork belly is the aromatic steam bath created below the roasting rack. A pan of water infused with garlic, onions, and fresh herbs creates gentle moisture that imparts subtle flavor to the meat as it cooks. This technique enhances the pork’s natural richness without overwhelming it.
The crucial second stage involves unwrapping the pork and increasing the oven temperature to create the signature crispy exterior. This caramelization process transforms the rendered fat into a crackling crust while maintaining the succulent interior. The result is pork belly with perfect textural contrast—meltingly tender meat crowned with a satisfyingly crunchy top.
Creamy Corn Tagliatelle: The Perfect Companion
The pasta component of this dish provides the ideal counterpoint to the rich pork belly. Fresh corn kernels form the foundation of a velvety sauce that balances sweetness with savory depth. By sautéing the corn with onions and garlic before pureeing, the natural sugars caramelize slightly, developing complex flavor notes.
Wide tagliatelle pasta is the perfect choice for this sauce, as its broad surface area captures the creamy mixture effectively. The sauce clings to every strand, ensuring each bite delivers the full corn flavor. Adding reserved pasta cooking water—a classic Italian technique—helps create the perfect consistency while the starch in the water adds silkiness and helps the sauce adhere to the pasta.
Heavy cream and freshly grated Parmesan cheese transform the corn puree into a luxurious sauce with remarkable depth. The cheese adds saltiness and umami that balances the corn’s natural sweetness, while the cream provides richness that complements the pork belly’s fatty indulgence.
Balancing Flavors and Textures
What makes this dish exceptional is its thoughtful balance of elements:
- Sautéed red bell peppers add vibrant color, subtle sweetness, and textural contrast
- Fresh herbs like basil and parsley cut through the richness with bright, aromatic notes
- Lemon zest provides a citrus lift that prevents the dish from feeling too heavy
- Final garnishes of Parmesan and fresh basil enhance both visual appeal and flavor
These elements work together to create a multi-dimensional eating experience where each component enhances the others. The sweet corn sauce complements the savory pork belly, while fresh herbs and lemon prevent palate fatigue from the rich ingredients.
Serving Suggestions for Pork Belly Tagliatelle
This impressive dish can be plated restaurant-style for maximum impact:
- Create a bed of the creamy corn tagliatelle in wide, shallow bowls
- Place slices of the crispy pork belly on top of the pasta
- Garnish with additional grated Parmesan, thinly sliced basil, and a light dusting of black pepper
- Serve immediately while the pork is still crispy and the pasta is hot
This meal pairs beautifully with a glass of oaked Chardonnay or light-bodied Pinot Noir. For a complete dining experience, start with a simple salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette to prepare the palate for the rich main course.
Why This Recipe Works
This crispy pork belly with creamy corn tagliatelle succeeds by combining precise cooking techniques with complementary flavor profiles. The pork’s two-stage cooking method ensures perfect texture, while the corn sauce provides sweet creaminess that balances the rich meat. Fresh elements prevent the dish from becoming too heavy, creating a balanced plate that feels indulgent yet refined.
The recipe demonstrates how home cooks can achieve restaurant-quality results by understanding the principles behind each component. By paying attention to details like rendering the pork properly, using pasta water in the sauce, and incorporating fresh finishing elements, you can create a stunning meal that showcases the best qualities of each ingredient.
Whether served for a special occasion dinner or as an impressive weekend cooking project, this Crispy Pork Belly with Creamy Corn Tagliatelle represents the best of fusion comfort food—familiar enough to be approachable yet creative enough to feel special.
Crispy Pork Belly and Creamy Corn Tagliatelle
4
servings30
minutes3
hours30
minutes4
hoursThis Crispy Pork Belly with Creamy Corn Tagliatelle combines tender, caramelized pork belly with a smooth, rich corn sauce, complemented by sautéed red bell peppers and fresh herbs. Each bite offers a balance of textures and flavors, with crispy pork, silky tagliatelle, and bright notes of lemon and basil.
Ingredients
- Crispy Pork Belly
1 slab of skinless pork belly (1-2 pounds)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt
extra virgin olive oil
- Creamy Corn Tagliatelle
12 ounces tagliatelle pasta (or any wide pasta noodle)
4 ears of corn, kernels removed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon basil, freshly chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, freshly chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
to taste, salt and ground black pepper
for garnish, grated Parmesan cheese
for garnish, thinly sliced basil
Directions
- Prepare the Pork Belly:
Preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C).
Mix the brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, and salt. Drizzle the pork belly with extra virgin olive oil and rub the spice mixture evenly over the entire surface of it. Wrap the seasoned pork belly tightly in foil and place it on a baking sheet. Roast for 3 hours until the pork belly becomes tender and mostly cooked through. - Crisp and Caramelize the Pork Belly:
Raise the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C). Unwrap the pork belly and transfer it back to the oven. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the exterior becomes crispy and caramelized to your liking. Let the pork rest 15 minutes before slicing and chopping. - Cook the Pasta:
While the pork belly finishes, boil the tagliatelle noodles in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside. - Sauté Aromatics and Cook the Corn:
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the corn kernels and cook for 4-5 minutes until tender. - Make the Sauce:
Transfer the sautéed corn mixture to a blender. Add the reserved pasta water and blend thoroughly until smooth. - Add the Red Bell Pepper:
Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet. Add the red bell pepper and sauté until soft and slightly caramelized, 3-5 minutes. Pour the pureed corn back into the skillet. Stir in the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Simmer until the sauce thickens, 4-5 minutes. - Combine and Season:
Remove from the heat and toss the tagliatelle in the corn and bell pepper mixture until evenly coated. Stir in the freshly chopped basil, parsley, and lemon zest. - Serve:
Plate the creamy corn tagliatelle and top with chopped pork belly. Garnish with basil and Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Aromatic Bath: Wrap the pork belly in foil and place it on a rack above a pan filled with water and aromatics such as garlic, onions, and herbs during roasting. This method retains moisture and infuses the meat with subtle flavors.
- Adjusting Sauce Consistency: In Step 7, if the sauce becomes too thick, add reserved pasta water a little at a time, stirring until the sauce coats the tagliatelle smoothly.
SUGGESTED RECIPE: Sticky BBQ Pork Belly
If you love rich, melt-in-your-mouth pork with a perfect balance of sweet, smoky, and caramelized goodness, Sticky BBQ Pork Belly is a must-try. Slow-cooked until tender, then glazed with a sticky, deeply flavorful BBQ sauce, every bite is a perfect mix of crisp edges and juicy, smoky perfection. Whether served over rice, in tacos, or straight off the plate, this one’s pure indulgence.
