Pre-heat the oven to 220℃ – you need it nice and hot for the crackling.
Dry the pork, particularly the skin, thoroughly with kitchen paper. This is very important – our Middle Whites produce wonderful crackling but the skin needs to be really dry for best results. Slather on the oil and sprinkle on plenty of sea salt. Put into a hot oven.
Remove any fronds from the fennel bulbs and cut into quarters. Peel and slice the garlic cloves. Remove the zest from the lemons with a potato peeler and squeeze the juice from one of them.
Check the meat after 15 minutes – it will have begun to turn gold and harden but you may need to turn it to so that it browns evenly. After it has been in the oven for a total of 20-25 minutes and it nicely burnished, remove it from the oven and take the meat out of the roasting tin. Tip off the surplus fat (keep it in a jar in the fridge – it makes wonderful roast potatoes).
Put the roasting pan on the hob and tip in the Pernod and wine, allowing them to bubble up, and scraping up any crispy residue. Put the pork (and any juice that has come out of it) back into the pan and tuck the fennel quarters in around it. Add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, lemon juice and season.
Reduce the heat of the oven slightly (to about 200℃) and cook for a further 40 minutes or until the pork juices just run clear – Middle White pork is best served lightly cooked.
Remove the pork and dish the fennel round it. Some fresh thyme and bay leaves are a nice touch for serving. Taste the juice in the pan and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Bring it to the boil and either serve in the meat dish or separately.