Italian Porketta

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Place fennel seed, onion and garlic powders, black pepper, Italian seasoning, crushed pepper flakes, dried rosemary and kosher salt into a mortar and pestle. (If you don’t have one, you can place these ingredients in a plastic bag a crush with a meat mallet. You can also grind in a coffee grinder, if you like). Slice 4 cloves of garlic and add to the the seasonings. Mash and grind together until a dry paste forms and some of the fennel seeds are crushed. Set aside.

Make a cut in the meat lengthwise, so you can open it like a book. Make 6 small slits in the meat and insert the remaining whole cloves of garlic into each slit. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil on the inside of the roast and rub in. Take about a tablespoon of the fennel seed rub and rub that all over the inside of the meat.
Fold meat (as if “closing the book”) and, if desired, you can tie the roast together with kitchen twine. Drizzle another tablespoon of oil all over the roast and rub in. Add remaining fennel rub and spread evenly all over the roast. Place in a large roasting pan.

Scrub potatoes and cut into large chunks. Peel carrots and cut into large sticks. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Arrange around the roast in the pan. Sprinkle with thyme and add fresh rosemary sprigs.

Place in oven and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (depending on size of roast) stirring vegetables occasionally. When internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, remove from oven and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.