Fennel and White Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 8 ounces bacon, thick-cut (cut crosswise into 1/2 -inch pieces)
• 1 large fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fennel leaves, divided & minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 29 ounces cannellini beans, drained
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Tabasco sauce or other vinegar-based hot sauce, to taste
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. 1

   Heat a cast-iron skillet for a few minutes until hot, then add the bacon and sauté until crisp, stirring occasionally. Strain the bacon and reserve 2 Tbsps. of the grease in the pan to cook the fennel (save the additional grease for another use). Place the strained bacon into a medium bowl.

2. 2

   Add the sliced fennel to the pan and sauté until it just starts to brown, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the fennel and garlic from the heat, and add to the bacon.

3. 3

   Gently stir the beans into the fennel and bacon mixture, then stir in the minced fennel fronds, lemon juice and zest, cumin and olive oil. Season with a couple dashes of Tabasco and one-fourth teaspoons salt and one-eighth teaspoons pepper, or to taste. Serve immediately or within a couple of hours.