This recipe was prepared by Chef Tammy Brawley on Real Virginia, Virginia Farm Bureau’s weekly television program.

Fennel Pork Loin

24 garlic cloves
4 large sweet onions, sliced into 1½”-thick rounds
2 fennel bulbs, frilly tops chopped and reserved, ribs discarded, and bulbs cut into ¼”-thick slices
6-7-pound boneless pork loin
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup fennel seeds
3 cups buttermilk
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Heat oven to 400°.

Smash 12 garlic cloves into a paste and place it in a roasting pan that is large enough to hold the pork loin. Line the bottom of the pan with the sliced onions, laying them over the garlic paste. Then add the sliced fennel.

In a dry skillet, toast fennel seeds and let cool before placing in a spice/coffee grinder and grinding thoroughly.

Make incisions in the pork tenderloin about 2″ apart, and stuff 7-8 garlic cloves into each incision. Coat the pork all over with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle it with the toasted ground fennel.

Place the pork on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan. Pour the buttermilk over the roast. Tightly cover with aluminum foil and place the pan in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145° at its thickest part. Remove foil and continue roasting another 10-15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place the loin on a carving board.

Transfer half of the cooked onions and fennel, and all of the drippings and liquid, to a blender or food processor and blend for about 30 seconds. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and blend until the sauce is smooth and thick. If it seems a bit too thick, simply add warm water, about ¼ cup at a time, until it is thin enough to pour. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange the remaining onions and fennel in a pile on a warmed platter. Cut the meat into ½” thick slices and arrange them over the onions. Pour a few tablespoons of the sauce over the meat, and serve immediately. Pass the rest of the sauce in a gravy boat.