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David Tanis' Tuscan pork roast. Memories of a fine dinner in LA



I was thinking about what to cook and I came across this recipe from David Tanis' book 'Market Cooking'. We made it when we were in LA last year. My good friend Peter and I got the meat from the coolest, and possibly most expensive, butcher in the world, I think it was called 'A cut above' in Santa Monica but I might have got that wrong.
Anyway we made this deceptively simple recipe for a crowd and it was delicious. I seem to remember that we served it alongside the now legendary 'Roast potatoes and fennel from Lucca' from Ruth Rogers at the River Cafe.

The recipe

  Ingredients
1 boneless pork loin (not tenderloin), about 4 pounds
1 tablespoon salt
8 garlic cloves, grated or minced

½ cup roughly chopped fennel fronds, preferably from wild fennel
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar or spice mill
1 teaspoon fennel pollen (optional)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons roughly chopped rosemary, plus a few extra sprigs
2 tablespoons roughly chopped sage, plus a few extra sprigs
2 tablespoons roughly chopped marjoram, plus a few extra sprigs
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper






1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method
Season the pork on all sides with salt. 
In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Rub and pat the mixture all over the meat. Press the extra sprigs of rosemary, sage and marjoram against the roast, and use a few lengths of butcher’s twine to secure them. Cover the roast with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, or preferably overnight. 
Bring to room temperature before roasting.
Heat the oven to 200 deg. Place the roast in a shallow baking dish and cook, uncovered, for about 1 hour, until the meat is nicely browned and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 55 deg. 
Let it rest for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Make a jus
Serve the loin, thinly sliced, warm or at room temperature.

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