Sunday, October 21, 2007

Fennel-Crusted Pork Roast

Fall is my favorite time of the year. The chilly weather, the holidays with family, the warmth of the fireplace, the delicious food...oh, the food. There are certain flavors and smells that just work in the fall, you know?

The coming of fall inspired this pork roast. I've been needing a good excuse to use our roasting pan, and this recipe was just the thing. Roasts are simple, and low-maintenance, but result in flavorful meals. Just throw it all together, and pop the whole shebang in the oven. The fennel seeds may be crushed with the bottom of a heavy pan, which allows the full taste of the seeds to release. The pears and fennel blend together perfectly with the pork, and the red onions add a bit of color. It's a fantastic meal for a fall evening at home.

Fennel-Crusted Pork Roast
2 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
4 pounds boneless pork loin
2 red onions, quartered
1 pound small white potatoes, quartered
3 firm Bartlett pears, cored and quartered

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix fennel, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub the mixture over the pork, and place pork in a large roasting pan. In a large bowl, mix the onions, potatoes, pears, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the remaining oil. Scatter around the pork and roast 70 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing. Return pork to pan and serve. Serves 8.

6 comments:

  1. The food...definitely the food. :-) I like the addition of the pears, as it seems an interesting combo with the savoury garlic and fennel. Gotta try this on.

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  2. Mmmm. Fall food. You're so right. Natalie and I fired up the crock pot last night and threw together a batch of chili. SOooo looking forward to it. :o)

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  3. Oooooh! I made something very similar last spring, and I can't wait to do it again!

    Your take on it looks wonderful!

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  4. When are we going to try and figure out the fennel bacon?? We need to have a cooking night!!

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  5. Hi Larissa,

    Regarding your comment (thanks!), it occurred to me that when fall comes around, pork in any type of dish appeals even more to my appetite. What's even weirder is that over here I've begun to notice a lot of food festivals featuring pork! Need to check into that, to see if perhaps, they'll have anything close to kalua pig. :-)

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  6. I just made a variation of this a couple weeks ago- How much do you "crisp" weather food?? I like your version better I think- pear lends a slightly more sophisticated flavor than apples.

    Glad to find another foodie!

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