I’m obsessed with Sophie Dahl’s new cookbook, Very Fond of Food: A Year in Recipes. It’s printed on uncoated paper and has tons of gorgeous, rustic photos of food, which is usually uncomplicated and (for the most part) healthy. Many of her recipes don’t list a ton of ingredients, which is good for me – easy on my wallet and my free time. The book is a fun read, too, even if you don’t feel like cooking, as Dahl’s writing is filled with personality. Ingredient lists include “a whisper of half and half,” and recipes are given titles such as “Heartbreak Carbonara (or the first thing I ever cooked for a boy).” Dotted throughout the book are little stories that make the book feel personal and real – why she loves a dish or ingredient, beautifully recounted memories from times in her life, etc.Very Fond of Food is divided up into five sections: the four seasons and then a dessert section. Each season is divided further into breakfast, lunch and supper.
I chose to cook out of the summer section making her Fennel Frittata, which required only five ingredients and took less than 10 minutes to make. 
Affordable, easy, healthy, delicious. What else can you ask for?
Fennel Frittata
2 Servings
Fennel is a generous, diplomatic vegetable that works pretty much anywhere. Conjure up The Talented Mr. Ripley, pre-all the murderous action, and eat this frittata pretending you’re on the Amalfi Coast. You can serve it cold and with a tomato salad for lunch or supper, too.
4 eggs
1 fennel bulb, with a few of the fronds
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
About ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Preheat the broiler to high. Whisk the eggs in a bowl.
• Peel off the tough outer layers of the fennel and discard. Thinly slice the bulb so you have thin ribbons, and then further chop it down so it is in bite-size pieces.
• Heat an ovenproof frying pan and add the olive oil, and then add the fennel. Stir for a few minutes, until the color turns slightly translucent, and then add the whisked eggs and some salt and pepper. Cook until the bottom sets, sprinkle with the grated Parmesan, and then pop the pan under the broiler until the frittata is risen and triumphant, which should take 3 or 4 minutes at most.
• Serve quickly, garnished with a few fennel fronds.
Reprinted with permission from Very Fond of Food: A year in recipes by Sophie Dahl, copyright (c) 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Jan Baldwin (c) 2011 What’s your favorite frittata combination? Tell us in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Very Fond of Food by Sophie Dahl. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate KTMeyers whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won her a signed copy of Charred & Scruffed by Adam Perry Lang. KT, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in June 2012.
