Baby Fennel With Salsa Verde Food

GRILLED SAUSAGE, FENNEL, AND BABY ARTICHOKE SPRING PASTA

Steps:

• Heat grill on medium-high.
• Cook sausages for 10 minutes, making sure to turn to prevent burning. Season fennel with salt and pepper, brush with olive oil, and grill until brown and tender, about 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, slice the sausages on the bias into 1/4-inch slices, and cut the fennel into similarly sized pieces. Keep the sausage and fennel warm until ready to use.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta al dente.
• In another large pot of water, add lemon, onion, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Add trimmed artichokes and top with a small plate to weight down artichokes. Cook until hearts are almost tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from pot and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper, and place on grill to cook for 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, halve the artichokes.
• In a medium sized bowl, mix the vinegar and mustard. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified. Mix in salt, sugar, and pepper. Toss the sausage, fennel, artichokes, and pasta with walnut vinaigrette and plate, garnishing with the whole parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

BABY FENNEL WITH SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• For the salsa verde, whiz all ingrdients except the fennel in a food processor to a coarse paste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Meanwhile, slice the fennel into 2-3 cm wedges and cook in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 8-10 minutes until just tender.
• Drain, then place on a clean tea towel until dry, yet still warm.
• To serve, arrange fennel wedges in a bowl and drizzle with the salsa verde.
• Serve as part of an antipasti platter.

FENNEL-RUBBED LEG OF LAMB WITH CARROTS AND SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Lamb:
• Season lamb generously with salt and pepper; let it sit out at room temperature while you prepare the rub.
• Using spice mill or mortar and pestle, coarsely grind fennel seeds and red pepper flakes. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in garlic and 3 Tbsp. oil. Evenly rub lamb all over with spice mixture, making sure to work it into every nook and cranny.
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy skillet over medium. As soon as oil is hot and shimmering, add lamb to skillet and cook, carefully pouring off fat as needed into a small bowl (reserve it), until golden brown all over, 3-5 minutes per side. The goal here is to cook out some of the excess fat while you brown the meat, so it's important to maintain a moderate heat to keep the meat from getting dark before the fat can melt out. If the oil looks really dark or tastes burned, discard it and use olive oil in the next step.
• Trim tops from carrots and set aside for making the salsa verde. Scrub carrots, pat dry, and scatter along the outer edges of a large rimmed baking sheet. Place seared lamb in the center. Pour reserved fat and any fat still in skillet (don't forget to scrape out the crispy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan) over carrots, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
• Roast lamb and carrots until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of leg registers 135°F for medium-rare, 75-90 minutes. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and tent with foil; let rest 20 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Salsa Verde and assembly:
• While the lamb is resting, transfer carrots to a platter, then carefully pour any juices from the baking sheet into a small bowl (you should have about 1/4 cup; if you don't, top off with olive oil). Transfer carrots back to baking sheet and pop back into oven. Roast 5 minutes to reheat.
• Meanwhile, finely chop reserved carrot tops to make 1/2 cup; discard remaining tops. Place in a small bowl and mix in parsley, chives, lemon juice, pan juices, and 2 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper and more lemon juice if needed.
• Remove twine from lamb and slice about 1/2" thick (but you can really go as thick or thin as you would like). Arrange on a platter and serve with warm roasted carrots and salsa verde alongside.