Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel with White Beans

More tomatoes....well, it is summer, Dave's still out of town and I love tomatoes! If I'm only cooking for myself, I usually make breakfast for dinner, but since it's the middle of summer and fresh vegetables are practically begging you to take them home, why not? This recipe from the August edition of Bon Appetit sounded fabulous (it has fennel and beans, more of my favs) so I thought I'd take this opportunity to check it out. A tip for fans of Bon Appetit. I make it a habit to save any of BA's recipes that I like to my Epicurious.com recipe box. Then, I can recycle the magazine and have a more organized way of filing my favorite recipes. Try it, it will change your life.

Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel with White Beans, serves 6, Total time: 1 hour 10 mins.

2 large fennel bulbs with fronds attached

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. coarse kosher salt, divided

2 pints grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)

4 large fresh oregano sprigs

3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1/2 cup. Trim fennel bulbs and cut in half vertically. Cut each bulb half into 1/2 inch wide wedges, leaving some core attached to each wedge.

Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over med-hi heat until very hot (about 3 mins). Add fennel wedges in single layer; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt. Cook until fennel begins to brown and soften, turning occasionally, 10 to 12 mins. Add tomatoes, oregano, garlic, and crushed red pepper; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Fold together gently.

Transfer skillet to oven. Bake until fennel and tomatoes are soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 mins. Mix in beans and 6 tablespoons fennel fronds. Bake 5 mins. longer to heat through. Transfer mixture to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining chopped fronds. Serve warm or at room temp.

Bottom line: I halved this recipe and used butter beans instead of cannellini beans. It did not take the full 12 mins. to brown the fennel and it only took 18 minutes to cook the tomato, fennel mixture. I attribute the reduced cooking time to the smaller portion, but you might want to keep your eye on it anyway. The dish was delicious and quite filling. It would make a great vegetarian entree or pair well with fish or grilled meat.