Crown Roast of Pork with Fennel, Lemon and Garlic

Directions

1. I got my roast assembled already, as doing it yourself is quite tricky! Bring the meat to room temperature for at least 1.5 hours before roasting.
2. In small skillet, toast fennel seeds until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Place toasted fennel seeds, rosemary, garlic, sage, lemon peel, fennel pollen (if using) and all of the salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse processor to chop everything up, then add olive oil slowly, and blend until the mixture becomes a paste, scraping down sides occasionally with a rubber spatula.
4. Wipe pork very dry with paper towels, then smear the herb paste all over the meat, making sure to coat the middle and the crevices on the sides of the chops.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and let marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
6. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
7. Put a thin film of olive oil in the bottom of your roasting pan and spread it around with your fingers. Place onion slices down to form a rack for your roast. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the onions and salt and pepper them.
8. Place your roast on top and roast for 20 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn heat down to 350 and continue roasting until meat registers 145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours longer. Let rest 20 minutes before carving.