Name: Braised pork loin with fennel and cider
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Pork; 2 kg rolled pork loin, skin scored with a sharp knife, tied at 5cm intervals with kitchen string; ½ tsp each of dried savory, fennel seeds and whole aniseed; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced; 2 heads fennel, quartered; 500 ml dry cider (2 cups); To serve: crusty bread

Ingredients

Pork

2 kg rolled pork loin, skin scored with a sharp knife, tied at 5cm intervals with kitchen string

½ tsp each of dried savory, fennel seeds and whole aniseed

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

2 heads fennel, quartered

500 ml dry cider (2 cups)

To serve: crusty bread

Method

Main

1.Preheat oven to 220C. Rub pork loin with savory, fennel and aniseed, season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron casserole over medium heat and cook pork loin turning occasionally for 5-10 minutes or until skin begins to brown, then transfer to a large plate.

2.Add onion and garlic to the casserole, cook for 5 minutes until soft then add fennel and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Return loin to casserole, add cider and bring to boil. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1½ hours.

3.To serve, remove pork loin from casserole, cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. Slice thickly and serve with fennel, onions and sauce spooned over. Serve with crusty bread.