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Pork Loin Chops Braised with
Fennel and Pastis

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of a year she spent as cook in a seventeenth-century château in Burgundy."
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Pork Loin Chops Braised with
Fennel and Pastis


Cook and the Gardener:
A Year of Recipes and Writings
from the French Countryside
by Amanda Hesser, 1999, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The Cook and the Gardener is the winner of the 2000 IACP Cookbook Award
in the Literary Food Writing category. No doubt you'll agree the award is well deserved. It remains one of our all-time favorite cookbooks.
 

“Fennel is a package deal: vegetable and herb in one. A bulb of fennel in the
garden looks like a meaty white fist with slender fingers shooting out into
long plumes of feathery greens. The bulb, or base, of the plant is used as a
vegetable, either cooked or raw, sliced or whole. The fennel leaves, which
appear as a tuft of feathery greens, can be chopped and added to scent
other foods like meats, vegetable dishes, salads and even stock. Here, you
will see how each can be used as quite separate entities yet are integral
components of the final dish.”

Note that the pork chops need 2 to 3 hours to marinate.

Serves 4

Four 3/4-inch-thick pork loin chops
3 sprigs fennel leaves
1/4 cup pastis (such as Pernod) or
other anise-flavored alcohol
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse or kosher salt
1 1/2 cups Autumn Stock or water
[can substitute chicken stock]
2 medium bulbs fennel, trimmed, cut in half
through the root following the line of stems,
and sliced thin lengthwise
Freshly ground black pepper

1.  Make two slices an inch apart through the band of fat around the
chops. When sautéing, this prevents the chops from curling (which
is caused by the fat shrinking at a faster rate than the meat).
2. Marinate the meat:  In a shallow dish large enough to fit the pork
chops comfortably in one layer, place each chop on top of a fennel
sprig. Sprinkle the pastis over the pork chops and cover with plastic
wrap. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, turning over the chops every
half hour. Meanwhile, chop the leaves from the remaining four
sprigs of fennel and reserve.
3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. In a large flameproof casserole, preferably iron, heat the oil over
medium-high heat. Remove the pork chops from the marinade,
discarding the fennel sprigs, and season with salt. Add the chops
to the casserole and sauté, browning both sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
The oil should not burn, so adjust the heat accordingly. Transfer
the browned chops to a plate.
5. Pour the pork marinade into the casserole and increase the heat
again to medium-high. The liquid should boil on contact with the
casserole. Add the stock and pork back to the casserole. Bring the
stock to a boil, then transfer the casserole to the oven. Braise, un-
covered, for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the chops once.
6. Remove the casserole from the oven, transferring the chops once
more to a plate, and add the fennel to the casserole, stirring to
coat with the braising liquid. Season lightly. Lay the chops on
top, wedging them down into the fennel a bit so that they too
touch the cooking liquid. Cover the casserole and continue brais-
ing in the oven for another 10 to 13 minutes, basting often, just
until the chops and fennel are tender and the liquid has reduced
to about 1/2 cup.
7. The fennel should still be slightly crisp but should bend easily
when pressed. Transfer the pork chops to a serving dish. Stir
the reserved chopped fennel leaves into the sliced fennel in
the casserole. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and freshly
ground black pepper (coarsely ground, if possible) as desired.
Spoon the fennel around the pork chops, pour any pan juices
over the fennel and pork, and serve. The pork will have
become very tender and faintly sweet with the addition
of pastis.

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