Braised Fennel & Potato with Sausage & Arugula

+ Separationists vs. Combinationists

Is it a stew or is it a salad? I haven't decided yet, but it was good!

We get a CSA box every other week, so needless to say, we end up with a lot of random vegetables that often linger in the fridge, waiting for me to put them to good use. It stresses me out a bit, but it's also a fun challenge (when I'm in the right mood). Yesterday I opened the fridge door to a sea of green: fennel fronds, green garlic, a bag of baby arugula. I also found some Italian sausage in the meat drawer, and baby potatoes on the counter. And this meal, a CSA mishmash stewy salad, was born.

If you have young children, they probably (like my young children) prefer their food to be separate on the plate rather than mixed together. I generally prefer my food all mixed together. Sue me.

I realized recently that there is an easy fix for this problem. Cook the food separately, pull some aside for the "separationists" (aka mini-tyrants) and then combine it for the "combinationists" (aka grownups who enjoy eating a combination of flavors and textures).

For this dish, I took the sausages out of their casings, then cooked the crumbled sausage. While this was happening, I halved the potatoes and chopped the fennel and green garlic. I reserved some of the raw fennel, knowing that my children love to munch on raw fennel. I transferred the cooked sausage to a plate and added the fennel, green garlic, and potatoes to the pan. Then I added some broth and let it simmer until the potatoes were cooked.

The separationists got piles of sausage, cooked potatoes, and raw fennel on their plates. The combinationists got a potato, fennel, and sausage stew topped with arugula, lemon, and chile flakes. Everyone was basically happy with this meal. (I caved in to the youngest tyrant and gave her some mac n cheese because she doesn't like potatoes.)

P.S. Has anyone successfully solved a Rubik's Cube? I gave one to my six-year-old daughter and she quickly realized it was over her head. Now my husband is determined to do it. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of resources online!

Braised Fennel, Potato & Sausage with Arugula

3 to 4 fresh Italian sausages, casings removed (or about 1/2 lb bulk sausage)

2 heads of fennel

1 garlic clove or green garlic bulb, minced

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 lb new potatoes, halved or quartered

2 to 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (depending on how soupy you want it to be)

Salt and pepper

2 cups baby arugula or baby spinach

1 lemon, quartered

Chile flakes for garnish (optional)

Serves 4

Trim the fennel stems off the bulb, then halve and core the bulb. Slice thinly or roughly chop the bulb, reserving the fennel fronds for garnish. Rinse the chopped fennel.

In a soup pot or saute pan over medium heat, cook the sausage until fully browned, about 12 minutes, breaking it up into small clumps. Remove the sausage and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Add the chopped fennel and garlic to the pot and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and stir, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine. Add your desired amount of broth, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the reserved sausage. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

At this point, you can stir in the arugula so it wilts a bit, or place the stew in bowls and top with arugula. Finish with fennel fronds, a squeeze of lemon, and some chile flakes, if desired.