Tartines with Asparagus, Fennel Confit and Sheep Milk Yogurt

You may have seen from my last post, that I was away for a few days.(I only just saw that I did not actually post the post I am talking about here, it is up now: 5 things i love right now) My boyfriend and I spent the last 5 days in Berlin, eating our way through all the amazing restaurants they have there. I think I'll share some photos and stories later on, but I just got home, wanted to make this weeks recipe for the food matters project and share this here with you. I am back, and happy to be cooking again. After 5 days of eating out I really started to get a bit detached from myself.

 
These tartines were inspired by Heidi from 101cookbooks. I love pizza and it is probably the only recipe that I make quite often, but right now I really did not fancy making pizza.
So when I saw Heidi's recipe for her asparagus tartines, I knew I wanted to make something similar as soon as I get home. This is what I came up with





Tartines with Asparagus, Fennel Confit and Sheep Milk Yogurt
Note: The recipe serves only one, but you will end up with way more fennel confit than you need for this. Keep it in the fridge and use it up within one week (in sandwiches, for example) or freeze it in individual portions for later use. The fennel confit was inspired by a recipe I found in Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton.

2-3 bulbs fennel
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

a handful small asparagus (about 5 per slice of bread) or regular asparagus, cut into spears (about 2 per slice)
olive oil
salt

2 slices of bread
150ml sheep milk yogurt (drained through a cheesecloth)
salt and pepper
about 1 tbsp sliced almonds

To make the confit: Cut the fennel bulbs into thin slices, as thin as you can. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet on low-medium heat. Cook the fennel with the lid on the skillet until it is soft. then remove the lid and cook until browned. Try to cook it on low heat, the fennel will brown nicely but not burn. It took me almost 2 hours to get it that way but it involved almost no care. I just gave it a quick stir every once in a while. If you have less time, you can also speed it up a bit, but be more careful with it to prevent it from burning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Deglaze with about 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Cut the ends off the asparagus stalks, wash them and put them in an oven-proof dish. Drizzle with some olive oil and salt and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until bright green and tender.

To assemble:
Cut two thick slices of bread, top them with a spoonful of the drained yogurt, then a spoonful of the fennel confit, with a few asparagus stalks and top them off with a sprinkle of the slices almonds, salt and pepper.
Bake for about 5 minutes until the almonds have browned a bit and the bread is crunchy.

Serves 1.

Please, also check out the recipes the other participants came up with this week here.