Monday Recipe: Roasted Fennel with White Beans and Arugula

I love fennel. I think it's my absolute favorite vegetable right now. I'm pretty fickle tho. Second place goes to arugula, so this dish rocks my socks off. ;)

Serves 2 as a main dish

Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
2 large fennel bulbs, peeled and julienned
1/2 large red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1T olive oil
1T thyme
salt to taste

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2c cooked white beans)
3c baby arugula

Preheat Oven to 450*

carrots. we got some very sturdy carrots in our co-op box a week or so ago.

The fennel. Look how long these are!

Cut the fronds off right around the top of the bulb where they start turning into individual stems and are more green. cut the bulb in quarters, vertically, then slice horizontally.

Put olive oil, thyme, salt, garlic, onion, fennel and carrots together in a large bowl and toss well. Pour into a baking dish. This dish is 11 x 7, so the vegetables are sort of deep in here. Not a lot of air around them. Having them close together allows them to cook to a soft  and moist texture, but still have a roasted crunch on the edges. No drying out! Roast for 30 minutes or until all vegetables are cooked to your preference. Stir every 10-12 minutes, to allow even roasting.

In the meantime, get your beans ready.

Drain and rinse.

Add to a big bowl.

When the vegetables are done roasting, add them right away to the beans in the bowl. The vegetables should be hot enough to get the beans warm. If you prefer the beans piping hot, heat them on the stove or microwave before adding to the big bowl.

Line each serving bowl with a generous helping of arugula (1.5 c)

Spoon the beans and vegetables mixture over the arugula and serve!

Enjoy! This is the easiest one-bowl meal ever, and so nutritious!