Caramelized Fennel on Herbed Polenta

Like many of you, I'm a fan of Sarah Britton. Her site My New Roots is a beautiful blend of inspired cooking and nutritional insight, punctuated with genuine positivity. I'm sitting here with her eagerly-awaited first cookbook - a substantial hardback filled with her signature plant-based recipes and vibrant photos. I've had the manuscript for months, and expressed my enthusiasm with a quote on the inside cover. I could have written a lot more if I'd been allowed to edge in on Sara Forte or Deborah Madison's endorsement space ;) Here's what I wrote, "My New Roots is beautiful proof that eating with nutrition in mind need not be a compromise. This is an unabashedly enthusiastic riff on the food-as-medicine approach to cooking and eating. Sarah's playful and encouraging voice is infectious; you get the sense that she is waiting on the other side of each recipe to give you a high five." I think the high five is the key, and part of what I love so much about Sarah's work. At a time when many food choices work against us, Sarah wants your food and cooking to work for you. And she works hard at communicating the hows and whys - riding that line of inspiration and coaching, with the just the right amount of nutritional context. There are a lot of great recipes in her book, but I cherry-picked this gem to highlight. It is a creamy, herb-flecked polenta spiked with Pecorino, and topped with caramelized slabs of pan-seared fennel.