My big idea for you this week is what to do with those fennel fronds. In the past I’ve been a little stymied by them – big bunch of fronds, recipes that call for a sprinkle or two. What to do with the rest? Then earlier this year I ran into the idea to turn those fronds into stuffing for a pork roast. Brilliant! The combination of slightly anise-y fennel fronds with garlic and lemon and pork – it’s absolute heaven.
So I cobbled together this recipe from various points of inspiration. And calling it a “recipe” is probably unfair. It’s just a concept. But it’s delicious. You’ll find bunches and bunches of recipes online – some using the fronds, some using the bulbs. Pork and fennel is definitely a thing.
Ingredients:
fennel garlic red pepper flakes salt lemon zest olive oil pork loin roast
Preparation:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine roughly chopped fennel fronds with as much garlic as you like. Pulse roughly, then add some salt, some pepper and some red pepper flakes. Pulse a little more. This is also a great time to add some fresh lemon zest. Now with the processor running, drizzle in some olive oil, enough to make a stiff paste. You don’t want it too oily. This is your “stuffing.” Taste it for salt – it should be just barely on the side of being salty because that’s the salt that’s going to season your meat. But not too much salt!
Set that aside and work on your pork. I’ve used pork loin for this, trimming any excess fat and then butterflying the meat to make a big flat piece of pork that can be rolled up. Spread the stuffing on one side of your pork and then roll it up like a jelly roll. Use kitchen twine to tie it at intervals so it will stay in a nice log.
Now – you can let this sit for an hour. You can let this sit for a day. I’ve done both. But give it a little time for all those flavors to permeate the meat.
When you’re ready to cook, you can roast this or grill it. If roasting, I’d preheat the oven to 425. Rub the outside of the roast with oil and then put it in the oven and let it cook until it begins to brown, maybe 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and roast until the pork reaches 130 degrees. Yes, 130. Not 165. Don’t overcook that poor roast.. Remove it from the oven, let it sit, lightly tented with foil, for about 10 minutes before you slice into it. Remove those strings before you slice! Follow the same general idea if you want to cook this on the grill. That’s what I’ll be doing Sunday for Father’s Day. Pork loin stuffed with fennel fronds and grilled. Can’t wait.
It’s delicious hot out of the oven, but it’s also good at room temperature and it’s just as good the next day as a cold sliced dish. The pork loin is so lean that if you’ve trimmed it well, you can eat it right out of the refrigerator.