If there’s one food that’s taken me by surprise more than any other, one food that’s moved from “okay, I’ll eat it” territory to “how can I get more of this in my life”, it’s fennel. Before last year, I was very “meh” on fennel, not being a particular lover of things anise flavored (I inherited a lot of things from my mom but a love of licorice was not one of them) and having somewhat of an aversion to salad ingredients that are just a little too sweet. Then, while throwing together this recipe, I discovered the magic of roasted fennel, in which the underdog bulb turns into actual vegetable candy while losing some of its anise intensity. I got hooked and fennel has become a reliable pal of mine in the kitchen ever since.
You might be thinking to yourself that scalloped potatoes are already perfect, thank you very much, and why do they need extra, unconventional ingredients. And I won’t necessarily say you’re wrong. Potatoes cooked in milk and cream until soft and rich and then layered with cheese and baked until they’re dark golden and crispy on top are pretty tough to argue with. And yet, I would not be doing my fiduciary blogging duty if I did not tell you that fennel makes the dish better.
I think what fennel brings to the proverbial table here, besides the element of surprise, is a little bit of depth. Not to knock the original, but potatoes and cream and cheese, while delicious, are a little bit one dimensional. It’s a lot of richness and a lot of sameness – DELICIOUS SAMENESS, YES, but it could use a little pizzazz. Enter fennel. Slowly cooked in white wine until light brown and caramelized, it’s then layered into the dish and baked between the potato layers, creating a fabulous – and yet still subtle – new dimension to an already awesome recipe.
Layering continued
I made this for the first time at Christmas, and I’ve made it since then because the lure of rich potatoes and crispy Gruyere cheese is too much to pass up. It’s the perfect side for any and all meats, easily baked off the next day if you want to make ahead and it is squarely in the comfort food zone that I’ve admittedly fallen into in the past few months. And with options like this, I’m not coming out of it any time soon.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 fennel bulbs (about 1 1/2 lbs.), trimmed, quartered, cored, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 1/2 lbs. waxy potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), peeled, sliced 1/8" thick
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 clove garlic, halved
- 1 cup shredded Comté or Gruyère
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 13x9x2” or other 3-qt. baking dish with 1 Tbsp. butter; set aside.
- Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add fennel; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel is evenly coated with fat and begins to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Add wine and 1 bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated and fennel is golden brown and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add 1–2 Tbsp. water to deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan for added flavor. Discard bay leaf. Set fennel aside.
- Bring remaining bay leaf, potatoes, cream, milk, and garlic to a simmer in a large wide pot (watch carefully; do not let mixture boil over). Season with salt and pepper and cover with lid slightly ajar; simmer gently until potatoes are just tender and liquid has thickened, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf and garlic.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer ⅓ of potatoes to prepared dish, spreading in an even layer. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with ⅓ cup Comté. Cover with half of fennel. Repeat process, ending with fennel. Cover with remaining ⅓ of potatoes and sprinkle with remaining ⅓ cup Comté. Pour cream mixture over. Cover gratin tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake gratin until top is bubbling and golden, about 30 minutes longer. Gratin can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Rewarm, covered, in a 350° oven for 20 minutes, then uncover and cook until bubbling around edges and warmed through in the center, about 20 minutes longer.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2017/02/17/scalloped-potatoes-with-caramelized-fennel/
