Italian Fennel Salad

Italy loves fennel. Okay, I love fennel, too. Here's a salad that celebrates fennel, along with many other vegetables that frequent Italian cooking. Arugula. Olives. Tomatoes. Pistachios. Parmesan. So many great tastes mixed together. This one is great for a crowd or a potluck. In fact, it was my recent contribution at a pickleball potluck. So many people enjoyed it and asked for the recipe - so here it is. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups arugula

3 cups mixed greens 

1 head fennel, including green fronds, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced

5 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1/2 cup kalamata or Italian style olives, coarsely chopped

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup pistachios

1/4 cup parmesan or vegan parmesan

1 Tbs thinly sliced red onion

1/2 cup Honey Lemon Dressing

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together. Add the dressing just before serving. 

Serves 8-10 generously or more at a potluck

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Feel free to mix this recipe up as much as you like. Add more of the ingredients you love, and less (or omit) the ingredients that aren't your favorites. It's always a hit. 

Gigante Limas in Tomato Sauce

These giant lima beans came in a can, but I've also seen them dried. Sometimes they're called butter beans, and yes, they are as just as smooth as butter! I drained them, added an Italian style sauce, and served them as a main course. They'd be just as good as a side dish. 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup sliced celery

2 slices bacon, sliced, cooked, and drained (omit for a vegan version)

1 can Italian Style tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1  12 oz can large lima beans

Directions: 

Cook the bacon in a medium size nonstick skillet while the vegetables are being prepped. Drain the bacon and move to a paper towel. Wipe the skillet dry. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, along with the basil and oregano. Drain and rinse the lima beans. Add the beans to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve. 

Serves 2-3 as a main course or 4 as a side dish

Stealthy Cooking Tip: You likely won't need to add salt to this dish. Both canned beans and canned tomatoes, even the low sodium varieties, have plenty of salt! Rinsing the beans will significantly lower the sodium, but they'll still have plenty of salt to taste great!