As a chef, I’m only interested in New Year’s food resolutions that I could serve in a restaurant. To fool our tastebuds and to replace fat and oil, I rely on big  flavors like these– the light licorice bite of fennel, salty & tangy olives and spicy chiles.  It’s so interesting, we forget that we’re eating healthy!

Start with Brooke’s Tin Foil Salmon (it’s the workhorse protein of the meal). Then, pair it my fennel. The trick is to roast only the fennel. Then, at the very end, you add the olives, chile and lemon zest. This keeps their flavors super bright and vibrant.

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Roasted Fennel w Olives, Chile & Lemon Zest
Author: 
Recipe type: Side dish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 heads fennel, cut into ⅛ths
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • Fresh thyme
  • Olive oil, as needed
  • ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives cut in half
  • 1 lemon for zesting
  • pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375˚
  2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. With your hand, rub about 1 tablespoon of oil on the foil and arrange the wedges of fennel on the tray. Drizzle more olive oil over fennel and season well with kosher salt. Scatter the chopped garlic and branches of thyme over the fennel and place in the oven to roast until tender, 25-30 minutes.
  3. To serve, transfer the roasted fennel to bowl and toss with the olives, finely grated zest of half a lemon and red pepper.