Roast the fennel seeds in a pan over a medium heat for a few minutes stirring every thirty seconds. Fennel seeds should turn a light brown colour; don't roast them until they are a dark colour or they will become bitter.
Put the fennel seeds in a mortar and grind into a powder. Put to one side. Grind garlic and salt to a paste with pestle and mortar; and add chilli and ground roasted fennel seeds. Pick and finely chop rosemary leaves; add to the mix; and stir in oil.
Place pork chops in a large bowl and coat in marinade. Make sure all the chops are thoroughly coated; cover with cling film and store in fridge for as long as time allows.
Chef's Tip: The longer you marinade meat for, the more it will take on the flavour of the marinade and the better it will taste. I generally marinade meat for 24 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 200C (180C fan-forced).
In a hot fry-pan, seal pork chops for 3 minutes on each side. Place fry-pan in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for 5 minutes.
Chef's Tip: Resting meat for the same amount of time you have cooked it for makes it more tender when reheat it.
Place fry-pan back in oven for 1-2 minutes to reheat.
Toss rocket with olive oil and assemble on serving plates topped with parmesan, tomatoes and pumpkin. Serve with pork chops and lemon.
MORE MARINADES Roast Pumpkin Marinade Serves 4 as a side dish or salad.
butternut pumpkin, cut into 8 wedges lengthways Use the same ingredients as the Pork Marinade but substitute coriander seeds for the fennel seeds and marjoram for the rosemary.
Roast in pre-heated oven at 180C (160C fan-forced) for 15 minutes or until slightly soft to the touch.
Lamb Marinade ½ bunch rosemary ½ lemon, juiced 1 clove garlic pinch sea salt pinch freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup olive oil Marinade 12 lamb cutlets and BBQ for 5 minutes on each side.
Beef Marinade Use the same ingredients as the Lamb Marinade but substitute thyme for the rosemary. This quantity will marinade a beef rib-eye to roast.
Pre-heat oven to 180C and roast in oven on a wire rack in a roasting for 1-1 ½ hours.
Rib eye is ready when a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the rib-eye for 5 seconds comes out warm when tested on your lower lip (which is very heat sensitive). If cold, it isn't cooked, if it's too hot, it's well-done. A warm metal skewer indicates the rib-eye is medium which is the best way to enjoy it.
Chicken Marinade Use the same ingredients as the Lamb Marinade but substitute marjoram or oregano for the rosemary. This quantity will marinade 4 chicken breasts.
Cut chicken breasts in half width-wise, marinade and cook on the BBQ.
