Kim Dannies: Lifestyle & Adventure writing

It's Greek to Me
April 18, 2006

There are lots of vegetables in the market that we snub each shopping trip because we're not quite sure what to do with them. Heck, it's justified, there's just so much prep time, why not go with a proven winner that the gang will love? Well, because the best produce we will see all year long is now arriving daily. This is the season to enliven your cooking repertoire by trying one new vegetable each week.

Start today with a bulb of fennel. If you don't know fennel, it's celery's sexy sister: same DNA, but a lot more spunk. Fennel adds crunch and heft to just about any dish: grill it, braise it, or chop it raw, it sparks everything from lamb to tuna to vegetarian gratins. Prep the bulb of fennel by removing the tough outer layer and slice both the bulb and the stems thinly. Reserve the green leafy fronds for garnish.

Warmer weather calls for food that is lighter, faster, and fresher. Nothing meets that demand better than my fennel studded Greek Seafood Pasta. If you don't do seafood, this healthy recipe is fine with just the veggies, or add some chicken or tofu.

Greek Seafood Pasta
Serves 4

• In a large sauté pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 cup chopped sweet onion and 2 cups thinly sliced fennel. Sauté the vegetables for 10 minutes then add 1 cup white wine (or vegetable stock), the juice of a lemon, and 4 chopped garlic cloves. Cover and simmer 5 minutes more.

• Turn off heat and add 2 cups of grape tomatoes, 2 cups of thin asparagus cut into 1" pieces, a handful of pitted kalamata olives, kosher salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes. (Recipe can be prepared up to two days ahead at this point.)

• Boil pasta water and cook 1 pound of whole-wheat penne pasta for 11 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water for the sauce, then drain pasta.

• Bring the sauté pan to simmer. Add the pasta water and one half pound each of scallops and medium sized shrimp. Gently stir the seafood mixture. When the shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat and cover.

• To serve, zap four generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach in the microwave for 90 seconds. Divide the spinach evenly among 4 pasta bowls. Add desired serving sizes of pasta to the bowls and then heap the seafood mixture over pasta. Top with crumbled feta cheese, ribbons of fresh basil, and a dash of freshly ground pepper.