Maple Glazed Roasted Fennel and Yams-Eating the Alphabet

One of the reasons that I joined Eating the Alphabet last year was to enlarge my exposure to different vegetables.  When the letter “F” came around last year, I wanted to try fennel.  I looked everywhere and could not find any so I had to pass that up.  This year when”F” came around again , I was determined to find some fennel.  I finally found some at a grocery store 30 miles away from home at a very expensive price.  They told me they have it all the time, but I won’t be buying it often at its current price.

Because I only bought one bulb of fennel, I knew it would not go far.  I have been having a love affair with roasted yams (sweet potatoes) so I decided to combine some of them with the  fennel  and roast them.  After the fennel and yams were roasted, I decided to add a couple of tablespoons maple syrup.  All in all, I thought the combination made a very good dish, and I will make this again.

Maple Glazed Roasted Fennel and Yams
1 bulb fennel, about 1 lb.
1 lb. or so small yams, about 1 1/2-inches in diameter
1 T. olive oil
2 T. pure maple syrup

Cut top from fennel bulb.  Wash and slice bulb into about 1/2-inch slices and place in a medium bowl.  Peel yams and slice into about 1 1/2-inch chunks.  Add to fennel in the bowl.  Pour the olive oil over the fennel and yams and toss until everything is well coated with the oil.  Turn out onto a foil-lined jelly-roll pan.  Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Toss well.  Continue roasting another 10-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and drizzle the maple syrup over the vegetables.  Toss well.  Return to oven and roast another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Toss once more and place in a serving dish.  Makes 4 servings.

If you would like to join Eating the Alphabet, you can get all the necessary information here on Brenda's information page.