fennel gratin

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Fennel gratin makes a delicious side, mixing fennel with potato, leek and garlic. A change on the Sunday lunch table alongside a lovely roast.

Fennel gratin is a lovely side dish and one that’s very simple to make. Fennel is a vegetable that many people have an aversion to, due to it’s liquorice like aroma. However when eaten the taste is far more subtle anise and cooking the fennel leaves it silky soft. During the warm Summer months I like to eat fennel raw in a salad or slaw, where they crunch of this vegetable works perfectly. However as we head into Autumn and the weather becoming a lot cooler, fennel gratin is what I want to eat.

This gratin works really well served alongside chicken, pork or fish. However this dish is rich with cream and cheese, so I would recommend cooking meat or fish quite simply. A roast chicken or some pan fried fish would work beautifully. If you want to cut down on the cream, you could replace the cream with a little milk instead.

If you like this recipe then try our Fennel & Apple Slaw, our Mustard Mash Potato, our Warm Vegan Potato Salad or our Boulangerie Potatoes, all great side dishes.

Fennel Gratin

Fennel gratin makes a delicious side, mixing fennel with potato, leek and garlic. A change on the Sunday lunch table alongside a lovely roast.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Canape, Starter, Side, Side Dish

Cuisine: BBQ, British

Keyword: Easy, Simple, vegetarian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Lesley Garden

Ingredients

• 2 fennel bulbs - core removed and sliced
• 1 leek - sliced
• 2 cloves garlic - crushed
• 3 medium potatoes - peeled and very thinly sliced
• 50 g butter
• 200 ml double cream
• 40 g parmesan cheese - grated
• 40 g breadcrumbs
• salt & black pepper

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low/medium heat and gently saute the leeks and garlic. Add a pinch of salt to the ban, this will stop the leeks browning and they will soften nicely.
• Cover the base of a 9" gratin/pie dish with a layer of potatoes (use half of the potatoes at this stage), followed by a layer of fennel and a layer of the leek mixture, taking care to lightly season each individual layer.
• Finish the dish with a final layer of potato which should be seasoned with salt and pepper. Pour over the cream, cover the top of the gratin.
• In a separate bowl mix in the parmesan cheese with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the dish in a thick layer.
• Bake the gratin in an oven at 190C/170CFan for 1 hour or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Notes

This basic gratin recipe is easily adapted for other vegetables, whatever you might have to hand. Onions can be used in place of leeks if preferred.

If you want to cut back on the the cream, simply substitute half the cream for milk.

We like to serve this dish with fish, chicken or pork, all of which go very well with the aniseed flavour provided by the fennel. Due to the rich gratin sauce we would recommend cooking your meat or fish simply.

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 282mg | Potassium: 834mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1102IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 196mg | Iron: 5mg