Laura In The Kitchen
Laura Vitale
I tried this recipe because I don’t make pork roasts often and I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. And since the same old thing gets more than a little boring, this seemed like a winner. It came out quite tasty and I remember my mother making something similar growing up. So while it didn’t taste exactly like mom’s, it was a bit like a walk down memory lane.
Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, unpeeled, cut into 6 thick rounds
2½ pound pork loin
3 garlic cloves, cut into this slivers
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio
Preheat oven to 475° F
Arrange the onion rounds, skin and all, in a single layer in the bottom of a 10-inch square roasting or baking pan. Cut slits all over the top and sides of the pork loin and stuff a sliver of garlic into each slit. Center the loin over the onion rounds in the pan.
Toast the fennel seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, then pound the seeds with a mortar and pestle along with the oil, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper to make the coarse spice mixture. Smear the mixture all over the pork loin.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the wine, ¼ cup water, and a good pinch of salt. Pour this into the bottom of the baking pan.
Roast the pork for about 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 400° F and continue to roast until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150° F, 50 to 60 minutes.
Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before cutting it into thin slices. Serve with the winey pan juices drizzled over the top.
Dinner With Diana 