You can brown the fennel simply with béchamel and parmesan, but also try to add aromatic herbs, other vegetables, ham, olives: everyone has their favorite recipe!
Not everyone loves fennel , especially i cooked fennel, but to please everyone, especially children, there is a solution: they can be proposed au gratin! The enveloping flavor of bechamel it can help to dilute the particular taste of fennel and make them more pleasant for everyone.
However, bechamel is not the only possible variant: there are different ways to enjoy them with this cooking method. Below, we suggest some delicious recipe, while in our gallery i tricks for a dish always at the top!
Classic gratin fennel
Ingredients
For this recipe you need 1 kg of fennel, 35 g of butter and 35 g of grated Parmesan cheese. To make the bechamel, 300 g of whole milk, 30 g of 00 flour, 30 g of butter, fine salt and nutmeg to taste.
Method
First, clean the fennel, remove the base and the tops with the tufts, then remove the outer leaves and cut them lengthwise. After washing them under running water, plunge them into a saucepan with boiling water and boil them for 10 minutes. When they are a little soft, brown them in a pan with a knob of butter for about 5 minutes.
Now it's time for the bechamel: in a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, incorporating the flour little by little with the help of the whisk. The roux must turn golden: at this point add the milk, salt and nutmeg.
Now take the pan and arrange your fennel, covered with béchamel. Sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and bake in a static oven at 200 ° for about half an hour. When the surface is golden, they are ready to be taken out of the oven.
Fennel au gratin with potatoes and carrots
This becomes a side dish or even a single dish (as substantial as it is), also ideal for those who are vegetarians. In addition to the fennel, get: 3 medium potatoes and 200 grams of carrots, then a mix of dried aromatic herbs in powder. Do this: peel the fennel as we indicated in the previous recipe, peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices, finally the carrots, clean them and cut them into rings. In the pan, arrange the first layer of fennel, then the potatoes, and finally the carrots. Don't mix. Sprinkle everything with salt, a mix of aromatic herbs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Bake the pan, covered with aluminum foil, at 200 ° for about 20 minutes. Then remove, remove the aluminum and bake again for another 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Fennel au gratin with ham
A great classic that always goes, especially with children at the table. In addition to the fennel, get 120 g of Prague ham, 100 g of fontina, 40 g of grated Parmesan, 150 ml of fresh cream and 20 g of butter. Do this: after having cleaned the fennel, brown them in a pan with the butter, add 100 ml of cream, then the fontina cheese cut into small pieces, finally the ham cut into strips. Complete cooking, transferring everything to a baking dish, sprinkling with the remaining 50 ml of cream and sprinkling with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Fennel au gratin with turmeric
An original recipe, in which fennel looks like bruschetta. In addition to the fennel, you need 30 g of bread, 30 g of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 clove of garlic, turmeric and salt to taste. Do this: peel the fennel and cut them lengthwise, in a round shape. Arrange them on the baking sheet, lined with baking paper. Put the diced cheese, diced bread and the garlic clove in a blender, chop everything. Sprinkle the fennel slices with this mix and finally with turmeric powder. Preheat the oven to 200 ° and bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot.
Sicilian-style fennel au gratin
Sicilian-style fennel au gratin contain all the flavors and aromas of this island in a dish. In addition to fennel, you will need: 100 g of black olives, 1 tablespoon of salted capers, 8 cherry tomatoes, 50 g of stale bread crumbs, oregano, extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste. Do this: peel and cut the fennel into thin slices, desalt the capers under running water, cut the cherry tomatoes into four parts, take the breadcrumbs and pass it in a mixer, then season with extra virgin olive oil. Now preheat the oven to 180 °, place the slices of fennel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, salt them, sprinkle them with the olives, capers, cherry tomatoes and the crumb, finally with oregano. Salt again and bake for about half an hour. Serve hot.
