Deliciousness for Dinner

My 12-year-old found this "too spicy", but I thought it was wonderful. I'd never bought fennel in my life, but figured the recipe wouldn't taste quite right without it. This came from a Cooking Light cookbook originally, but I changed it a bit. The recipe book gave the nutritional info as 217 calories per serving, but I figured it as more like 300. I don't know if I had more caloric cheese or polenta or ?? Anyway, it was yummy, and the leftovers reheated well.

Italian White Bean Polenta Pie

Serves 6 - about 300 calories per serving

1/2 lb fennel

2 c water

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 c instant polenta

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 c finely chopped carrot

3/4 c finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 (14 oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp ground sage

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 cup (4 oz) shredded provolone cheese

Wash fennel, trim off the outside tougher stalks. Cut the interior bulb in half the long way and dig out the core to throw away. Cut the rest into matchsticks, which will hopefully make about 3/4 cup. I want to try chopping the fennel next time - it didn't incorporate very well into the dish.

Using an oven safe skillet (I just put foil over the handle of my nonstick skillet before I put it into the oven and it's fine), combine the water and salt and bring to a boil. Slowly pour in the polenta, stirring to prevent lumps. Turn the heat down and cook, uncovered for 3-5 min (til it pulls away from the sides of the pan). Take the pan off the burner and smooth the top of the polenta evenly. Let stand 5 min.

In a second skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, cook the fennel, onion, carrot, and garlic in the tsp of olive oil until tender. Stir in the beans, sage, and red pepper; then spoon over the polenta. Bake at 400 degreens for 10 min; then sprinkle the top with cheese and bake 5 more min (til cheese melts). Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.