Cooks should have a whole lot of respect for fennel. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus used a large stalk of fennel to carry fire from Mount Olympus to earth.
But, alas, while fennel is a popular ingredient in Italian and Indian cuisines, it is not used that often in American cooking. Our loss.
That could change. Italy and India remain the world’s major fennel growers but California is now a major fennel producer, too. Trader Joe’s now carries fresh fennel as do most major supermarkets.
Fennel is available to us, people! We have no excuse not to up our game with this ingredient. Maybe fennel could be the vegetable for 2020–much the way cauliflower broke through a couple of years ago.
Why should you bother? First, fennel isn’t that exotic. It is, after all, a member of the same family as carrots and celery. Secondly, fennel is good for us. It is rich fiber and B vitamins. Finally, fennel tastes great and adds a firm and crunchy texture to foods we prepare. It’s a win win win!
This particular recipe is pretty wonderful. It is a gratin of fennel. I don’t know about you, but I’ve yet to meet a cheesy gratin that I don’t enjoy. In this case, this recipe’s warm anise flavor and generous use of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses make it a perfect stand-alone vegetarian main dish or a robust side dish served with meats. I’ve enjoyed it with a side of potatoes and I’m thinking that I may make the gratin with alternating layers of fennel and potatoes next time.
This is not Blue Cayenne’s first rodeo with fennel as an ingredient by the way. Just type fennel into the search bar on the right side of this page and you will find several delicious dishes including a beautiful Pea Soup with Fennel, a to-die-for Asparagus Soup with Fennel and Pernod (here), a Gorgonzola-baked Fennel and Cannellini Bean Salad and a White Bean Stew with Carrots, Fennel and Peas.
Here is the recipe for Fennel Gratin.
[mpprecipe-recipe:244]
This recipe is adapted from on that appears in David Tanis’ cookbook, Market Cooking. You can find the book here.
