Pot-roasted Pork in White Wine with Garlic, Fennel, and Rosemary

From Happy Days with the Naked Chef, by Jamie Oliver

Serves 6

Equipment:

• Dutch oven
• tongs
• chef’s knife
• cutting board
• corkscrew
• measuring spoons
• cotton kitchen string and scissors
• wax paper

Ingredients:

• 1 3.5-4 lb boneless pork loin
• 1 fennel bulb (also called anise in some grocery stores)
• half a 750 ml bottle of Chardonnay, your choice
• 1 handful of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stem
• 8 cloves of garlic, skins left on
• 1 Tbs fennel seeds
• 4 bay leaves
• butter
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Tie the pork with 2 or 3 pieces of string, so it will hold its shape in the pan (Not crucial, but nice).
2. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Roll the meat in the fennel seeds until covered. Cut the fronds off the fennel bulb and slice it.
3. Open the wine.

Cook:

1. Melt a large pat of butter with a little olive oil in the Dutch oven on medium high heat, and brown the meat on all sides until golden. Throw in the garlic, herbs, fennel, and wine.
2. Cover the Dutch oven with a piece of wet waxed paper, and put in the oven for 75 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a plate for 10 minutes.
3. Finish the sauce by scraping up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan, and add another pat of butter. Taste and correct the seasonings. Squash open a few of the garlic cloves- when cooked they go nice and sweet and add a lovely taste to the sauce.

Serve:

Slice the pork, and serve with some of the sauce. This is nice with roasted potatoes, rice, or buttered noodles.