Dining and Cooking
Chefs’ Collections

Cold Pork Roast With Fennel and Green Bean Salad

The intensely aromatic garlic and herb seasoning gives this pork roast outstanding flavor. It is best seasoned a day in advance of cooking (or at least a few hours ahead), and the roast itself may be cooked up to a day before serving. Served with a simple salad of fennel and green beans, it makes a perfect summer meal.

Ingredients

For the roast:

  • 1 boneless pork loin roast, about 4 pounds
  • Kosher salt
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fennel fronds, plus extra fronds for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed in a mortar or spice mill
  • 1 teaspoon fennel pollen (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped sage
  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped marjoram
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (peperoncino)
  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the salad:

  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound green beans, or a mixture of green beans, yellow beans and Romano beans, trimmed
  • 2 heads fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

      667 calories; 37 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 67 grams protein; 193 milligrams cholesterol; 939 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

6 to 8 servings

Preparation

For the roast:

  1. Season pork loin generously on all sides with salt (about 2 tablespoons).
  2. In a small bowl, combine garlic, fennel fronds, fennel seeds, fennel pollen if using, lemon zest, rosemary, sage, marjoram, red pepper flakes, black pepper and olive oil. Rub and pat mixture on loin, then wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for several hours, or preferably overnight. Bring to room temperature before roasting.
  3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a rack in a roasting pan. Put loin on the rack and roast for about an hour, until a thermometer registers 130 degrees. Let cool to room temperature before serving. If desired, after cooling you can wrap and refrigerate loin for up to 24 hours, then return to room temperature.

For the salad:

  1. For the dressing, put garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and whisk in olive oil.
  2. Blanch beans in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then drain and cool. Put beans and fennel in a salad bowl, season lightly with salt and toss with dressing. (Dress salad about 20 minutes before serving.)
  3. To serve, cut roast into 1/4-inch slices. arrange on a platter and garnish with reserved fennel fronds. Pass the salad separately.

Dining and Cooking