Fennel Gratin

First off, this isn't a recipe from the Beekman Heirloom Cookbook. This is something that I read in a magazine or a different cookbook over the summer. It's so simple to make, that I just do it pretty much from memory now.

First off, let me tell you about fennel and why I like it so much.

This is fennel. You've probably had the seeds in really good sausages before, but here it is in all of its glory. Mine is a little old, hence my rush to use it tonight. I like the flavor of fennel. Mild, but kinda sweet.The nice thing about fennel is that you can use all of it for different things. For the gratin, I just use the base. But the green frondy bits can be used in soups.

For this recipe, you're going to cut them off. Once you do, save them for a soup if you'd like, or toss them.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

You can cut it up however you like. I usually just do cross-sections because I like how it looks. Mix it with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, a bit of salt, some pepper, and about a tsp of thyme. If you use fresh thyme, double the amount. 

Cover it with aluminum foil, then put it in the over for about 20 minutes until the fennel softens. This recipe is great because it has large spaces of time where you get to go do something else. So, you can work on the main dish, or you can go watch Netflix.

After 20 minutes, remove the foil, then cook for another 15 minutes until it starts to brown. See, more time to go finish that episode of Sherlock on Netflix. Or slicing up the cheeses you'll need.

  

For some reason, blogger is only letting me upload this rotated to the right, which is strange. But whatever, you get the idea.

As for the cheeses, I use Gruyere and parmesan. 

Look at that GQ gent on the Gruyere cheese. I only use about 2 ounces with my gratin, so that gives you 2 ounces to eat. Or save for something else. Or...1 ounce for each.

There's my Gruyere all cut up and my parmesan in a glass. My parmesan is just a generic brand from the grocery store. It's in a glass because that makes it easier for me to sprinkle over the fennel once it cooks. I want to get the little glass bowls so I can pre-measure things like that and just pour it in. For now though, I have coke bottle juice glasses.

Anyway, make sure you set your over to broil. 

Layer your cheeses over your nicely cooked fennel, then pop it in the over for about 5 minutes so that the cheese can melt and bubble. 

Ta-da. Cheesy fennely goodness.