The Best of Fine Cooking — Real Italian 2017

side dishes

garlic bread

Making a compound butter with sautéed instead

of raw garlic helps mellow the flavor, while baking

the bread in a paper bag helps crisp up the crust.

You can adjust the amount of garlic to suit your tol-

erance: 1 clove for mild or up to 4 for high potency.

Yields one loaf of bread; serves 8 to 10

2 Tbs. fruity olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely minced or puréed (about 3 tsp.)

¾ tsp. coarse salt

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, in small dice or thin slices

1 1-lb. loaf italian bread (preferably a thin-crusted style)

Heat the oven to 400°F.

in a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the

garlic, salt, and pepper and cook, sizzling gently for about

2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The garlic should soften

and become fragrant but not brown. Put the butter in a

small bowl and pour the oil and garlic over it. Blend until

smooth enough to spread evenly.

Make diagonal slices in the bread at 3/4-inch intervals,

stopping short of the bottom crust. Slather some of the

garlic butter into each cut. Slip the loaf back into the paper

bag that it came in (or use a torn paper grocery bag; avoid

those with printing or plastic on them). Wet the entire bag

with a spray bottle or a very fast pass under the faucet.

Pop the package into the oven and bake until it smells of

popcorn and the crust is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.

VaRiaTiOnS

For herbed garlic bread, add 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf

parsley or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme, oregano, chives, or

basil to the butter along with the garlic.

braised fingerling potatoes with

fennel, olives, and thyme

This rustic side dish is great with roasted lamb or pork.

Serves 4

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

¾ lb. fingerling potatoes (7 or

8 medium), cut lengthwise

into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Kosher salt

1 small bulb fennel, trimmed

and halved lengthwise, then

cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-

thick slices

1 medium sweet onion,

thinly sliced

1/2 cup lower-salt chicken broth

3 sprigs fresh thyme, plus

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

for garnish

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup pitted niçoise olives

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Heat 1½ Tbs. of the oil in a

10-inch straight-sided sauté pan

over medium-high heat. Add the

potatoes and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook,

stirring occasionally, until the

potatoes begin to brown, about

7 minutes. Transfer the potatoes

to a plate.

Add the remaining 1½ Tbs.

oil and the fennel to the pan

with a pinch of salt and cook,

stirring occasionally, until lightly

browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the onion to the pan and

cook, stirring often, until starting

to soften and lightly brown,

2 minutes more. Add the broth

and bring to a boil. Gently nestle

the potatoes into the fennel-

onion mixture and add the thyme

sprigs. Cover the pan and braise

in the oven until the potatoes

and fennel are tender, about

20 minutes.

Uncover the pan, add the

olives, and continue to braise

until most of the liquid has

evaporated and the vegetables

are meltingly tender, another

10 minutes. Remove from the

oven, discard the thyme sprigs,

and season to taste with salt

and pepper. Garnish with the

chopped thyme and serve.