Pasta Salad with Roasted Fennel, Artichokes and Arugula

Pasta salad usually conjures up memories of mayonnaise laden elbow macaroni (with a dusting of paprika for color.. it was the 80's.. paprika was HUGE) that was served at every picnic, party or family reunion that I attended as a child. 

For all of you that know me on a personal level, store bought mayonnaise skeeves me out.  I don't know what it is about the stuff, I can't go near it with a ten foot pole.

Maybe its the fact that it jiggles when you shake it. 

So you can imagine how I feel about pasta salads made with mayo.

Shudder....

Then in the early 90's some random relative (or maybe it was my mom... sorry, mom) started making a vinaigrette based pasta salad.  I think it contained tri colored pasta, feta, black olives, and tomatoes.. maybe cubed ham (random), and it was oh so good. It instantly became one of my favorites.

A vinaigrette based pasta salad is a great thing to take to parties, potlucks and picnics. It's quick, easy and usually sits well at room temperature for awhile, which is probably why previously said unknown relative made this salad year after year.

Although I usually opt for a gluten free and vegan salad to bring to potlucks (thank you, quinoa), pasta salad is one of those familiar dishes that everyone seems to love. So I make it... and people eat it.

It's a win-win situation.

This pasta salad has alot going on...  Artichoke hearts, gigande beans (giant white beans packed in oil), roasted fennel, fresh herbs and some arugula all tossed with a simple vinagrette. Bring it to your next party or eat it in an air conditioned apartment watching back to back episodes of breaking bad.  Either way this salad is delicious.

Pasta Salad with Roasted Fennel, Artichokes and Arugula (makes enough for a parrrr-tay)

4 c. dry penne pasta
1 can artichokes, drained and rough chopped
1 fennel bulb, cut in 1/4" half moons
2 large handfuls baby arugula
1/2 c. gigande beans (opt.), chickpeas or cannelini beans would be a good substitute
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 c. fresh dill, chopped
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
2-3 T. extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and cracked pepper

Vinaigrette:
6 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 cloves grated garlic
4 t. dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook penne in boiling salted water till al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again, then transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and toss with a spoon to prevent the pasta from sticking together.

Place sliced fennel in a small bowl. Toss with 2-3 T. extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper. Transfer to a sheetpan and bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until fennel is soft and beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Add the roasted fennel, artichokes, red onion, gigande beans, dill and parsley to the penne.
In a small jar combine the ingredients for the vinagrette. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds until well combined.  Pour the dressing over top and sprinkle with sea salt and lots of cracked pepper and toss to combine. 

Just before serving, gently fold in the arugula.

Roasted Fennel and Tempeh Sausage Pizza

It all started with a bunch of fennel from the farmers market.... and an intense craving for something with cheese.. and bread... and more cheese.

I love the savory/sweet taste of fennel, probably because it tastes like a black jelly bean flavored vegetable.
For those of you that have never experience the deliciousness that is fennel, it tastes like licorice and pairs well with several foods. 

Fennel is great thinly sliced and added to a salad, but one of my favorite ways to enjoy this vegetable is to toss it with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it up, 'till it's soft and slightly browned around the edges. You can then toss it with pasta (either hot or cold), add to a sandwich or use it as a pizza topping.

I could have kept this pizza simple... a little roasted fennel, some caramelized onions and a bit of cheese, but I wanted something with a little more substance.  I had a brick of tempeh hanging out in my fridge and decided to make some sausage crumbles to go on top.  Now, for those of you that eat meat, you're probably all like.. tempeh on a pizza.. gross, and tempeh that tastes like sausage, yeah right.

But whatever... This stuff is DANG good...and GOOD for you.  I've had many a meat eater impressed with these crumbles, and really, it's all in the spices.  Fennel seed, garlic, sage, crushed red pepper.  All in sausage.  The texture is a little different but once blanketed under a layer of cheese, you would never know the difference.  All you taste is savory, cheesy, bready goodness.

And thats's all that matters.

So, anyways...

Make this pizza.

It's good.

Roasted Fennel and Tempeh Sausage Pizza (makes 2 10" pizzas)

1 batch pizza dough. 
1 medium sized fennel bulb, halved, cut into 1/2" thick slices
2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. grated pecorino romano
1 batch tempeh sausage crumbles (recipe below)
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper


Tempeh Sausage Crumbles

4 oz. organic tempeh
1/2 T. fennel seed
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t. sage
1 t. garlic, minced
1 T. tamari
1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 t. lemon juice

In a sautee pan, crumble tempeh and add just enough water to cover. Over high heat sautee tempeh until most of the water has been absorbed.  Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until tempeh is browned, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place fennel in a bowl, drizzle with 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread on a sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes (stirring fennel halfway through), until soft and lightly browned. Set aside.
Meanwhile, make your tempeh sausage crumbles. Set aside to cool.
Now, make the caramelized onions. Heat 2 T. olive oil and a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook the onions, stirring every five minutes, until golden brown. Set aside
Now.. let's make some pizza!
Place a pizza stone in the middle of the oven and increase heat to 500 degrees.Roll out your pizza dough on a piece of parchment paper. Place on the bottom side of a large metal sheetpan (you'll use this to slide the pizza onto the stone) and drizzle with a very thin layer of olive oil, just enough to lightly coat the crust.  Scatter on a layer of onions, some mozzarella, roasted fennel, the tempeh crumbles and top with a little more mozzarella. Carefully slide the pizza on to the stone.Bake for 5 minutes, rotate 180 degrees, and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, until the crust is browned and the cheese is melty.  Slide the pizza off the parchment paper onto a cooling rack and top with grated pecorino. Repeat with the remaining crust. 

Arugula Salad with Pear and Fennel

Sunday mornings.

In my dream world Sunday mornings go a little something like this:

Wake up without being dragged out of bed by my two dogs. 
Drink copious amounts of tea while preparing a huge brunch.. you know pancakes, french toast, eggs or something else decadent that will sit in my gut like a rock until dinner time. 
Then... I would sprawl out on my bed, read the New York Times and start drinking mimosas when the clock strikes noon (Don't judge... at least I wait 'till noon). 

Real life:

Wake up to the sound of dogs whining like they haven't eaten in weeks. Roll out of bed, trip on something, swear loudly.
Make some tea while feeding the dogs.. decide to take them for a long walk so I don't feel guilty if I don't leave the house the rest of the day.
Get harrased by my neighbor for letting my dogs poop in front of his house despite the fact I pick it up. Attempt to NOT go off on him, which rarely happens.
Come back inside. Drink my tea while trying to keep my dogs from humping each other (I told you... real life). Start to get hungry, then realize I have nothing to eat for breakfast in the house despite the fact I dropped $75 at the grocery store the day before.  You know.. on vitamins, flax oil and fancy salt. The necessities.
Think about eating popcorn and a drinking a beer at 10:30 a.m.
Decide I should eat something healthy to counteract all the martinis I had last night.. you know.. like a salad.
Pray that I have something I can throw together in less than 10 minutes.

Pull out some arugula, half a bulb of fennel and a bosc pear. Chop, chop, chop.

Make a quick dressing. Shake, shake.

Enjoy my salad while watching old episodes of real housewives of Atlanta, wishing I had some champagne to wash it down.

Arugula Salad with Pear and Fennel (serves 1-2)

This makes a great first course salad. If you are looking to make it a bit more substantial I think adding some shaved parmesan and a handful of roasted almonds would be amazing.


4 oz. Baby arugula (a couple large handfuls)
1 bosc pear, cored and sliced into thin pieces
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thin
Shaved parmesan cheese (optional)
Roasted almonds, rough chopped (optional)

Simple champagne vinaigrette (this may make a bit more than you need, but keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days)

2 T. champagne vinegar
1 t. stoneground mustard
1 1/2 t. honey
1 T. minced shallot
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a small glass jar and shake it up.

Place arugula in a large bowl, add some dressing and toss to combine.  Transfer to a plate.  Add the fennel and pear to the bowl, toss with some dressing and pile on top of the arugula. Top with a little more dressing and some fresh cracked pepper.  If you're feeling naughty top with some shaved parmesan and chopped roasted almonds.

French Lentil Soup with Kabocha Squash and Fennel

Normally I'm a butternut girl.

Butternut soup. Coconut butternut curry. Butternut risotto. Butternut pizza.

I love me some versatility.

Fortunately, there are so many varieties of squash available this time of year.. buttercup, delicata, carnival and hubbard.. just to name a few.

This time around I snatched up a kabocha squash and scoured the internet for a recipe.

Kabocha is the generic japanese word for squash, but refers most commonly to the squash of the buttercup type.  The exterior is bluish green and the flesh is deep yellow.  It has a rich, sweet flavor and is often dry and flaky when cooked.

I had been craving a lentil soup for awhile and was psyched to come across this recipe from Heidi at 101 cookbooks.  I picked up some fennel, leeks and ginger and got to work.

French lentil soup with kabocha squash and fennel (serves 4)


1 1/2  lb. kabocha squash
1/2 c. water
1 T olive oil
1 c. french lentils
5 coins ginger, 1/8" thick
1 whole star anise
6 c. water
1 t. sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 c. olive oil
1 medium onion diced
1 leek, sliced
1 fennel bulb, medium dice
2 c. collard greens, thinly sliced into ribbons.  (kale or chard would work well too)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the top third of the oven.
Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.
Oil and salt the squash and roast cut side down (in a rimmed baking pan) with the 1/2 cup / 120 ml of water poured into the pan. Roast until tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. When cool enough, scoop out cooked squash and set aside.
In the meantime, in a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, ginger, star anise and water. Simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt.
In a large stockpot combine the olive oil, onion, leeks, fennel and additional salt. Cook covered over low heat until vegetables soften, about 7 - 10 minutes.
Remove the star anise and ginger coins from the lentil sauce pan, then add the lentils, lentil broth and squash to the vegetables in the stock pot. Stir well and cook for another 15 minutes or so, allowing the flavors to blend. Add collard greens during the last five minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning here with more salt if needed.



I topped these with some homemade garlicky croutons, per Heidi's suggestion.