Five Spice Pork Loin with Fennel Citrus Salad

There’s something special about the mingling of warm meat in cool crisp salad. This one brings Asian influences with the meat marinade, resting within the fresh vibrance of citrus and shaved vegetables. It’s also great to serve cold, so you can prepare the meat a day ahead for the flavors to develop even further.

By Sally James

Yield:
4 Servings
Cuisine:
Chinese
Course:
Dinner

Ingredients

2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon red wine vingear
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
1 pork loin (about 1 1/4 pound)
olive oil, for cooking

Salad

1 large bulb fennel (anise)
1 Persian cucumber
2 ruby grapefruit or other seasonal citrus fruit, segmented, reserving juices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chardonnay or rice wine vinegar
6-8 mint leaves, torn

Directions

Warm the honey and blend with the soy, red wine vinegar and spice.
Trim the pork loin and place in a zip lock bag. Add the marinade, seal and massage mixture all over loin. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Heat an ovenproof pan over medium high heat; add a few tablespoons of oil and cook pork on all sides to just brown. Transfer to the oven and cook to an internal temperature of 145°F, about 15 minutes. It’s wonderful if still left just a little pink inside. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
While the pork is resting, slice the fennel and cucumber very thinly on a mandolin or with a very sharp knife. Place in a bowl; add a few of the fennel fronds and the segmented fruit.
Whisk the oil, vinegar and reserved juices and toss through the salad with the mint.
Slice the pork, add to the salad and serve with chilled Pinot Noir such as the Australian Yering Station, and some hot crusty bread!