Fennel and Potato Gratin

I keep on seeing this beautiful vegetable at Farmers' Markets with long green stems and feather-like leaves. My decision to finally purchase some was purely superficial, so I didn't want a recipe that involved a lot of fuss. After a quick Google search, a recipe for Fennel and Potato Gratin was chosen. Having never made a savoury gratin before, this was a learning experience (ie a bit of a fail). While cutting up the fennel, it was hard to miss the distinctive smell of licorice leaving the stems. Fennel appears to be used a lot in Italian cooking, and given that's my favourite kind of cooking, it will have to be prepared as such next time.

And speaking of Italian...

... Got a bit side tracked there...


Fennel and Potato Gratin

Serves 4

4 medium potatoes
1 fennel bulb
1 cup cream*
1 cup milk*
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Freshly ground salt and pepper

Peel and finely slice potatoes and slice fennel into slivers. Put into cold water, drain and pat dry.
Heat cream and milk in a saucepan to simmering. Add garlic, pepper and salt.
Layer the sliced vegetables in a baking dish and pour over the milk/cream mix.
Cover with foil and bake at 180C for half an hour.
Remove the foil and allow to finish cooking till tender and the top has browned.

*I would highly recommend using half the amount of milk and cream, as the mixture came out quite runny.
It might be quite nice next time with a Parmesan bread crumb coating. Yummy!