In keeping with the maxim that one should use up an entire ingredient, I also made a potato & fennel gratin with the my leftover fennel from the latest Royal Foodie Joust.
I've grown to really like fennel and I've also learned it mellows when cooked or sliced/shaved thinly.
I used Ina Garten's gratin as a reference but if you compare the two, I've taken quite a few departures.
I've added thyme into the mix, kept the skins on the potatoes, used Yukon Golds and rather than mix the gratin ingredients in a bowl, I layered the filling so as to have a more evenly distributed final dish.
If trying fennel in a potato gratin for the first time, don't tell anyone else what's in it. Your family or guests will love the flavour but won't exactly be able to pinpoint the ingredient. Fennel mellows when cooked and in a very nice way.
Potato & Fennel Gratin
2 small fennel bulbs
1 medium-to large onion, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup cream
1 cup whole milk
4 sprigs of thyme
2 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
(1/2 cup reserved for topping)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Pre-heated 375F oven
- Butter the inside of a 10 X 15 X 2" baking dish
- Remove the stalks of the fennel and the bulbs in half. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bubs crosswise (making approx. 4 cups). Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes or until soft and translucent. Reserve.
- Using a mandoline, thinly slice your potatoes and mix them in a bowl with your cream, milk and fresh thyme. Arrange an alternating layer of potatoes and then some onion & fennel, sprinkling a bit of salt and pepper and then some grated cheese. Repeat potato layer, onion and fennel, salt and pepper then grated cheese.
- Pour enough of the cream/milk mixture to just cover the gratin and then press down to smooth the potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Gruyere on top and finally your bread crumbs.
- Bake for 90 minutes, until the potatoes re very tender and is browned and bubbling. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
53 comments:
I've still not tried fennel.
I must get making something
fennel-ish soon! This looks like just the thing.
I love the slight anisee taste of fennel.
I have only used them few times, and each time i loved it
I know what you mean. I fell in love with marathoriza. I don't know why on earth they call it finocchio in Greece when we have such a lovely word for it. BTW finocchio in Italian slang means gay.
I love this. And the photo is so delicious!
Fennel has always been a regular on our dinner table, both when I was a kid, and now that I'm married. I've never added potatoes to the gratin and I can't imagine why! What a great idea.
A refined and comforting gratin! Wonderful!
Cheers and have a nice weekend,
Rosa
Hi Peter,
What an inspiring union of fennel and potatoes. I have, as you suggest, served fennel numerous times as a "secret" ingredient. It's amazing how many are surprised. I especially enjoy it shaved thin with vidalia onions and slowly roasted with garlic and oil. Wonderful post. Thanks for sharing...
Looks delicious Peter! Not a huge fan but I need to get over that!
his just sounds so yummy & comforting to me. I love the way the fennel flavor gets all smooth when cooked
Looks delicious, of course. You never fail to please. Just thought I'd share that while I love fennel, I prefer it raw in salads or just hand-to-mouth. It's just so refreshing. Hmmm, maybe I prefer it that way because it doesn't last long enough to cook.
I've grown to really like fennel too and this application is so good. I mean, how can you go wrong with cheese and cream?
I was wondering what was the side dish served with those great looking pork chops.
Love gratins and fennel, but I've never eaten cooked fennel, always raw.Does it keep all that wonderful flavor?
This looks like all your other dishes...fabulous!
OMG! That looks so good! I have to try this. I still have some leftover fennel too.
This looks gorgeous (though not lowfat in the slightest, eek!)! We got a fennel in our organic ox this week that needs a home, too...
Chico... there's something in the air! Today I made the most fabulous stuffed potatoes thinking of you and Valli... Thinking of you because they got 2 kinds of butifarra in it (remember our catalan sausage) and in Valli because she is a potato-devorator specimen ;D. They also were gratined in the oven with allioli on top.... a SIN!... The worst of the Sins!!! Aaaaahh... still in extasy ;D
I'm entering into the fennel world... slowly but entering. Have a great weekend Chico! I'm gonna be unplugged like the rockers ;D
I love potatoes au gratin! This dish looks lovely!
Absolutely droolworthy Peter. You've taken this to the exact level I had envisioned...bravo!
What a nice autumm side here Peter, it looks scrumptious! Although I could eat this as my main!
I love the crusty top! That would definitely be my favorite part. Your photos make it all the more inviting.
The perfect season for rich casseroles. Wonderful.
peter - fennel is just one of the most wonderful vegetables around and this recipe is a real treasure. perfect!
Pete, I have never had a fennel gratin, but I know I would love this. This is such a delicious way of having veggies!
What a great dish! I did something similar a while ago when I wanted to sneak some celeriac into a gratin for someone who thinks vegetables begin and end with potato.
Yummmmmmmmmyyyyy. I love fennel. I'm loving see all of these great fennel recipes going around now. This is a very clever idea.
an unusual recipe for an unusual ingredient - nice work
I like the call for subterfuge. Teehee. (Sometimes it really *is* needed!)
Jan, think of celery with a hint of anise - that's fennel.
Happy, I now love it too!
Ivy, it's a wonderful vegetable and it will appear on my table more often.
Ioanna, this is good alternative for tarragon too.
Joanne, it works...sneak it in and see if anyone notices or can pinpoint the difference.
Rosa, thanks and you have a great weekend too!
Louise, nice to find someone else being kinda' sneaky!
Judy, try it with potatoes like here, you might become a convert.
Ben, me too...they have lots of nutrients.
Kat, me too...a mellow yellow flavour.
Foodalogue, baby steps...I just started liking fennel.
Elly, cheese & cream makes all things right in the world!
Pia, others asked too and so I posted this side dish. I'm surprised at the most kind reactions.
Lisa, thanks!
Sticky, we should start a new food event...cooking with Joust leftover ingredients!
Mel, gotta go rich every now & then.
Aww Nuria...I wish I was there to taste your food and have a wonderful chat at the table. One day...
Thanks Marjie!
Pete, I had to post this as you & some others were curious...a good side dish.
Marie, you do like potatoes, eh?
Bridget, that's the breadcrumb topping & cheese.
Glam, you're right - it's time.
Meeta, this dish is now part of my roster.
Patricia, it was a delicious surprise.
Foodycat, next time just do it!
Disorder, thanks...I'll try & make some more.
Kiwi, I was just happy to end up with a very tasty dish.
TS, I do enjoy the odd...subterfuge! (evil grin)
Peter this look rico,rico, translated is yummy,yummy, I love this type of dishes!!and your look wonderful, ......how ever!!!! xxGloria
This recipe is enticing me to give fennel another chance.
Of all the flavors I'm not so wild about---it's fennel. Stems back to a restaurant I worked at while going to college---don't ask. But this gratin on the other hand, looks amazing.
Fennel is something we concentrate on around the holidays. It was always served fresh on the table before the meal. It also settles your stomach after a big meal! Your dish is perfect for a chilly evening :)
Can't you please have me over for dinner? I promise not to tell my husband.
With the change of weather upon us, this gratin is perfect for meals on cool nights. I grew up eating this veggie, although we always called it finocchio, pronouced fin-OAK-yo. I would sneak raw slices to crunch on! I love that faint aniseed flavor when cooked. YUM! This would make a great main dish!
I really enjoy the aniseed flavour to fennel and your gratin looks superb.
Nice photos. The ingredients in this gratin sound wonderful.
Nice golden crust on this. What a perfect fall dish. You almost can't go wrong with 2-1/2 cups of Gruyere!
I Love fennel Peter. I shall be giving this a try, it looks wonderful!
Yum...sophisticated comfort food!
you know you just reminded me that i made a fennel/potato gratin for the blog about 8 months ago and the pictures turned out so crap (and the final result didn't look at all as delicious as yours), so we never posted it.
this is such a wonderful side dish and, to all on the fence about it cause they never had fennel, peters' totally right - it adds notes of flavor you'd not be able to put your finger on. it totally mellows and works best when really thinly sliced. TRY IT!
also, it makes an excellent side dish to your thanksgiving or christmas dinner.
So I'm not a big fan of fennel, but everyone else I seem to know is. This might be a good way to get my feet wet if fennel mellows with cooking and I just love gratin potatoes in general.
Can't let any of those leftovers go to waste,right? When I don't tell people what I put in the foods I make, people get mad :)
This sounds like a nice way to use fennel. I have been wanting to use fennel more.
I love fennel. Usually I use it to make a big batch of roasted vegetables. It has so a good flavor. Now with potatoes. I think I would like them mix together.
I would definitely go with the not telling part, as Graham thinks he doesn't like fennel. You notice I used the word think? I will be sneaky and he will like this one :)
Gorgeous, Peter. I am really craving gratins lately, can't stop talking about them. Must be the rain. Silver Spoon has about a million different variations, and I've half a mind to try all of them.
Excellent touch with the fennel.
I love gratin, but seldom have a chance to eat it ... which means I have to learn to make it soon, haha ... yours looks great!
mmmm, I love fennel gratin! It is one of my favourite vegetable dishes in fact. Whenever I make beef Wellington, I always make a fennel gratin too for some reason!
Sadly I'm the only one in my family who likes fennel, but I think this recipe would make a good impression on them.
oh my - you had me at gratin!!
This is another great one Peter. I think fennel is really underrated in this country. It's often a tough sell. Hopefully recipes like yours will help change minds.
This looks perfect. Love potato. Love fennel. And cheese??? Well I could dress in it!
Gloria, I love that- rico, rico!
Sandie, saute the fennel with the onions, allow it to mellow and you'll enjoy it.
Maryann, I guess fennel has properties like the seeds as in a good digestive...good eats too!
Prudy, nor will I! lol
Paula, it's a foreign veg to my family but I do like now.
Thanks Rosie.
Thanks Parker!
Angela, it's a gratin...I won't be cheap w/ the Gruyere.
Marie, hope you enjoy it.
Neverfull, thanks for the note...it adds that "somethin'somethin" here and yes, great holiday side dish.
Jen, read up what everyone's saying...it mellows when cooked.
Jude, that's why you don't tell them! lol
Kevin, this is a great dish to get liking fennel more.
Helene, great idea- part of roasted vegetables.
Holler...you go & be sneaky...your secret's safe. :)
Heather, thanks for the rave...it was wonderful, almost lasagna like.
Noob, get with it, eh! lol
Helen, now that's a dish I have to make, Beef Welly.
Nina, sneak it in to a dish I say!
Lisa, GOTCHA!@
Zen, try mixing it in like I did here...people will wonder what that "wonderful" ingredient is.
Nicole...you're funny and I like that!
Fennel has become a favorite of mine - the gratin looks amazing. I can't wait to try it. I also like to add fennel to soup.
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