Recipe Index: Alice Waters

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Serves 4 to 6

Cooking over a bed of hardwood coals always adds flavor, especially to roasts. For those unable to roast over an open fire, here is a method that approximates the result. Overnight seasoning cures the meat lightly, and the fennel and herb branches perfume the meat as it roasts. Serve with roasted root vegetables.

2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon fennel seed
4 branches rosemary
4 branches sage
Optional: extra-virgin olive oil

One day in advance, lard the pork loin with garlic, making incisions into the underside of the roast with a small sharp knife and inserting the garlic slices. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper. Crush the fennel seeds coarsely in a mortar and sprinkle over the meat. Press the rosemary and sage branches into the meat, and, using butcher's twine, tie up the roast, using a simple slipknot finished with a half hitch every 3 inches. Refrigerate.

The following day, bring the pork loin to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F. Roast the pork loin on a rack, uncovered, until the internal temperature registers 130°F. on a meat thermometer, about 1 hour. Remove the roast from the oven, cover loosely with foil, and let rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes. This allows the juices to Stabilize and the roast to continue cooking slowly without drying out. The meat will be moist, with the barest tinge of pink. Slice the pork and arrange on a warm platter with the herb branches. If you wish, drizzle with fruity Tuscan olive oil.

From Chez Panisse Café Cookbook. Copyright 1999 by Alice Waters. All rights reserved. HarperCollins Publishers. Used by permission.