A recipe from Social Nutrition

I found this recipe in an article about low calorie eating.  It sounded great so I decided to try it.  It was a great hit with my family - even the kids loved it.  So, I decided to share it with you.  From the article, I think the author of the recipe is Justine Pattison.

Pork Loin with Fennel - 329 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp flaked salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1.3kg lean rindless loin of pork (rolled and tied)
Olive oil for frying
2 large fennel bulbs (about 250g each) cut lengthways into wedges
200ml white wine
250ml pork stock (I actually used chicken stock as I didn't have pork)
2 eating apples
2 tbsp double cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6.  Put the fennel seeds, flaked salt, peppercorns and finely chopped rosemary into a pestle and mortar and crush until coarse.  Rub the herb mixture all over the meat.

Heat a large, fairly shallow flame-proof and oven proof casserole dish and add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Fry the pork to brown on all sides - about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.  Add the fennel wedges to the casserole dish and cook for 3  minutes or until lightly browned on all sides.  Add the wine and the stock and stir well to remove any meaty bits stuck to the bottom.  Return the meat to the pan, placing it on top of the fennel.  Let it bubble for about 30 seconds.  Put the pan in the oven and cook for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut and core the apples and cut each into 8 wedges.  Remove the dish from the oven and scatter the apples around the meat.  Cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.

Transfer the pork to a board to rest for about 5 minutes and put the fennel and apple into a warmed serving dish.  Put the casserole over a medium heat, stir in the cream and season to taste.

Simmer for a few seconds then strain into a jug and serve with the pork.

I served it with steamed broccoli and string beans as well as the fennel and apple.  Truly delicious and the pork was very tasty and juicy.