They say nobody works in Rome, but this is clearly not true. Lately when dr bob hits town, time is too short and there always seems to be too many things to get done at the university, although the ultimate meaning of these academic goings on is anything but obvious. With time pressure pushing bob's mental schedule, it is difficult to make the daytime telephone connections to commit to evening socializing. Perhaps the growing inflexibility of an aging temporary American in Rome, faced with a shortening annual summer visit that can no longer accommodate all the people from his accumulated past friendships. Who to call? When to commit to an evening? The more time goes by, the harder it gets. How to explain all those skipped years?
The day draws to a close. Darkness falls. The computer session terminates. dr bob is alone. The central train station beckons. The cafeteria La Piastra run by the Ferrovia dello Stato (Italian state train company) is conveniently located at the main train station and city public transportation hub a few blocks away, so one can eat and run, busing or metro-ing off to bed in any direction. The food is not great but it is Italian, immediate, reasonably priced, and maybe even healthy, depending on the choices. No need to wait around endlessly to be served or for the next dish to arrive, alone. And an interesting mix of other customers to study. Many tourists, some Italians, of widely different origin and social status.
So one of these frequent evening dinners offered bob baked/broiled finocchio as a side dish to the meat and chicken dishes he so religiously avoids. bob usually does vegetarian in Italian restaurants. Choosing from pasta, risotto, soup, veggies, fresh mozzarella, etc. The fennel was simple. It seemed to have been baked with butter and parmigiano. bob gave it a try. Liked it. And so back in the states baked fennel was on the agenda for experimentation.
The first attempt was a baked potato and fennel gratin loosely based on a Williams-Sonoma junk mail catalog recipe that just happened along upon bob's return. heavy on cream, and apparently the baking time was too short to tenderize the fennel. The second attempt jettisoned the complications. Steaming the fennel first for about 20 minutes and then broiling it with some butter and parmigiano until browned. Tender. Tasty. We see more fennel in our future.
Way back last century there were no cell phones in bob's side pocket to document these kind of food events, so there was no illustration. Finally we decide to try roasted fennel decades later, but this recipe is not exactly elegant. Ani did some web searching and found a simple but sophisticatted solution. Looks like an Italian guy snagged an American woman on vacation and married her. Doing food propaganda stuff in Todi, Italy. We had one bulb so half the following recipe. After rinsing and patting dry, cut off the bottom, a bit of the stalks, then in half lengthwise, then into lengthwise wedges (see the video if not 404), and spread out on a baking sheetlined with parchment paper. Salt and pepper it, drizzle olive oil on them and then with your hands mix them up to coat them evenly. Spread out in a single layer. Bake at 400 ° 30-40 minutes. Then sprinkle with the cheese and broil for 5 minutes careful not to burn them.