Garlic-Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

This homey side dish will fill the kitchen with warmth - great for these last few nights that dip down into winter-cool temperatures.

Cut 2 pounds small red potatoes in half, and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Separate and peel the cloves from one whole head of garlic. Finely chop one of the cloves, and sprinkle over the potatoes. Arrange the remaining whole cloves around the potatoes, along with 2 large green bell peppers (cut into 1/2-inch thick strips), 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper. Toss to combine, and set aside.

Note: a mortar and pestle make easy going of crushing the fennel and coriander seeds!

Meanwhile, heat 1 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth in a saucepan over medium heat, just until warm. Remove from heat and stir in 1/8 tsp. saffron threads; let stand 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, then drizzle the broth mixture over the potato mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. While the potatoes cook, cut 2 large fennel bulbs in half. Remove the cores, then cut each half in half again (so you have 8 pieces of fennel total).

After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and arrange the fennel pieces over the potatoes. Return to the oven and cook an additional 50 minutes, stirring halfway through.

You'll have 6 servings of 1 and 1/2 cups and 180 calories each. Garnish with some fronds from the fennel, if you like, for a pretty presentation!

Note: I was distracted (listening to a baseball game, I confess...) and forgot the paprika, salt, and pepper while tossing the ingredients together. So I added those three seasonings when I added the fennel bulbs to the pan at the thirty minute mark. Whoops!

Cost:
fennel bulbs $3.75
small red potatoes $4.99
garlic head $0.36
green bell peppers $2.15
saffron $7.99
sherry vinegar $6.99