
The other day I put together this healthy working lunch. A few nights before I had made a baby spinach salad with fennel, and orange with a citrus dressing. I served it with a roasted vegetable pasta with feta cheese. With the left over cup of pasta, and salad I threw together this quick working lunch.
Pasta with Fennel and Spinach
1 cup of cooked penne pasta, 1 cup of baby spinach leaves, 1/2 cup of sliced fennel, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp orange juice, 1 tsp of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp chopped garlic, cracked black pepper, salt, crushed red chili flakes to taste, Parmesan cheese to garnish
1. Dressing: Whisk the olive oil, orange juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, black pepper, crushed red chili flakes, and salt.
2. Add the dressing to a hot pan and slightly cook the garlic.
3. Add the spinach, and fennel until the leaves wilt.
4. Add the pasta and mix together.
5. Top with grated Parmesan.

Fennel is packed with powerful antioxidants. Fennel is a good source of niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, potassium and manganese. Fennel seeds, known as Saunf, often help to overcome gas, cramps, acid indigestion, and many other digestive tract maladies. They are used in Indian Cooking, and are often served after dinner as a palate cleanser and to help digestion.
Verdict: I really enjoyed the taste of the fennel with spinach. I've been eating a lot of the standard 'english' vegetables, as Shankar's grandmother refers to them. So going beyond the cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, peas, cabbage, and potatoes is a big adventure for me. I find as an adult my palette has certainly matured, I am really enjoying more complex flavors and foods that are slightly bitter or sour. Some new favorites of mine include, fennel, arugula, mustard greens, and bottlegourd which you saw in my last post.
I'll leave you all with a funny joke told to us by one visiting uncle: He took his grandkids to the Field Museum in Chicago. Upon arriving at the museum CK Uncle proceeds to tell his grandkids how long it has been since he's been to that museum, and things may have changed since he last visited. His young 7 yr old grandson gently takes his hand and says
"Thatha, when you last came here it was a Zoo, and the dinosaurs were all playing around here!"
34 comments:
I have to try this, penne with fennel is a great combo!
Love the Fennel bulb flavor in Pasta, looks yum!:))
Pasta looks delicious!
Loved the joke! Kids comments are priceless:)
hey kanchana!! thats one incredible dish!!! I love penne and fennel together, great!!!!
Delicious dish. I love the tast of fresh fennel.
Loved the joke :-))
O.k... now I have to try this one soon. But I'm not sure I'll like fennel. It is "saunf", right?
I'm gonna give it a shot when I can:-)
fennel and orange is a great combo. love it.
I have never tried Fennel in my cooking. I want to try this dish as it looks so good!
Enjoyed seeing your wedding pictures.
i have to try this....i am buying some fennel.
That looks like a wonderful combination of flavours.... I am always a bit hesitant to try fennel.... but this looks tempting! :)
I recently tried fennel with pasta and became a convert.
And that comment by the kid...priceless!!! lol
Love the crunchy fennel. I took some time to get acquired to the taste though. I think fennel and parmesan are made for each other!
fennel if used with the right ingredients tastes great! will try this soon
looks perfect.i love penne it's yummy with spinach and fennel
this sure is easy. and i love the silvery bowl!
I must say, its a wonderful combination of flavours!!! Love the way it looks....
A the joke is cute :)
That pasta looks delicious Kanchana... I can just imagine how all the wonderful flavors come together in this... I know what you mean about maturing palette, I too have started liking a lot of veggies which I couldn't stand as a child :)
Kanch: I also only ate standard english veggies... for some reason, I ate more mushrooms than lady's finger!! My weekly shopping used to be the same... for years. Carrots, beans, peas, capsicum, cauliflower, mushroom, broccoli, babycorn and spinach. I so know where you're coming from :-)
Nice recipe... so simple and nice joke.
I doubt we get fennel bulbs in India.
new and interesting combo. Have to try this, looks great. Thanks for sharing.
lovely looking bowl of penne!
I find the combo of fennel and spinach interesting. would love to try this!
looks like a gr8 combo...n LOL @ the joke!!
Hey, love the recipes here..Thanks for visiting my blog..
i am not a great fan of spinach, but believe the combo tastes great!
hi kanch... fresh fennel is new to me...will def try it
hey wasn't the prev template better ?
Hi Kanchana, quite a regular visitor of your blog, and i noticed ur blog looks different...something wrong with the domain?
I have never tried Fennel...and now i know for what i am going to use it for next time..Noted down fennel in my shopping list....
Hey Kanchana,
Your blog is looking different. I'm guessing that this is not something you did.
I never tried penne,after seeing yours feels like have to.Thanks for sharing.
Hi there, thanks for your comment on my blog.
Wow!The new template looks classic and neat,Kanchana..
The pasta dish looks sooo lovely.I am not used to cooking Pastas much,but this triggers me to try!:)
Thanks a lot for trying Carrot sadam.(invented by my ma in law suited according to the family's taste :))...can do it with left over rice too(I always reserve the sauce for that in the fridge).You can try the same with fine pices of brinjal instead of carrots too..:)
Kanchana!
This looks really light and flavorful, can't wait to try it out!
P.S.: Love the pictures :)
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