Roasted Fennel Salad with Fried Egg

This was an odd night. Derek informed me that he would be going out with a friend at night and therefore, would not be joining me for the typical evening of spin class, dinner and frozen yogurt. This was fine – I carried on with my normal routine and came up with my own idea of what I wanted to make for dinner. Fast forward – Derek’s friend delays their outing, and then it is cancelled – leaving the two of us on separate schedules, still sharing the same house. Derek had take out and ate alone – and I took the second shift in dining solo with my own creation. The night did, however, come back together when he ran and got his own frozen yogurt so we could enjoy that together.

Perhaps this does not seem like an odd occurrence to most, but when you are used to cooking and dining together, or alternatively, being completely alone, the dining in shifts while still together is just a bit odd!!

Going for simple and without a need for ingredient purchase – I came up with the idea for a salad with a fried egg on top. Knowing that there should probably be a different ingredient in the salad besides lettuce and egg, I remembered we had some fennel. With our knives, it’s difficult to cut the fennel thin enough to be good on a salad, so it popped in my mind to roast it! There you go – salad of roasted fennel and fried egg with shaved pecorino romano on top.

Roasted Fennel Salad with Fried Egg

Mixed salad greens
Fennel bulb, cut into 1/3 in pieces (wedges)
EVOO
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Egg
Butter
Pecorino Romano

To roast the fennel, spread out on a greased cookie pan and sprinkle with lemon juice and EVOO. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes, until tender but not burnt.

To fry the egg, heat a mixture of oil and butter in a omelet pan. Once hot, add the egg and let fry for about 4-5 minutes, until the whites on top are no longer translucent. If desired, give a quick flip on the other side for “eggs over easy”.

To assemble, place greens on a plate. Sprinkle a little lemon juice and EVOO on top. Top with fennel. Place fried egg in center and season all over with salt and pepper. Shred cheese over the top and serve!

Alongside the salad I served a piece of toasted ciabatta bread with goat cheese spread all over it and topped with the chopped roasted red pepper.

I didn’t cook the egg properly, at least to my taste. I prefer sunny side up but for some reason tried the over easy technique. The yolk was only slightly runny and the white was a little rubbery. I wanted the yolk to act as a bit of a dressing for the salad so I’m glad I had put the lemon juice and EVOO on instead. My greatest discovery of the night was roasted fennel. I don’t think I’ve ever had it before and it was sooo tasty!! The anise flavor is subtle but still there – and it was tender and really just quite wonderful overall.

Not a gourmet meal produced by Derek but good enough for me :)