Cauliflower fennel gratin
Cauliflower fennel gratin
When you talk to people about fennel, they are either in the pro or con camp. There doesn’t seem to be some sort of middle way when it comes to fennel. Granted the flavor of fennel is quite distinct. I love it in all it’s forms; seeds, fresh or dried (come to think of it, I can’t recall every using dried fennel but that’s beside the point…:)
When I first read the recipe for this Cauliflower gratin I was a bit surprised that it included fennel. I hadn’t tried that particular combination before and it’s not one that would naturally come to my mind. But reading through the rest of the dish I had to conclude that it was definitely on my want to try list.
And what can I say; it is totally delicious. There is a lot of mild cheddar cheese used in this dish which you can ofcourse substitute with another cheese, but I felt that it worked really well here. Plus I love the bright yellow of cheddar. It makes it looks already golden in our crappy oven (just a few more weeks before the new kitchen..! Whoohoo!) without too much hassle.
Lovely and golden yellow
We added a layer at the bottom of boiled potatoes and had this with a chicken leg. I will definitely be making this again too and then want to incorporate some minced meat and potato puree. The fennel here is not too overpowering so if you’re new to fennel eating.. 
you might want to give this dish a try. I substituted the original heavy cream for a lighter version as with all that cheese it was a bit on the heavy side for someone who’s trying to loose weight. Although by watching portion size I think I still stayed within the limits.
Caulitflower fennel gratin
Yield: 6
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 50 min
Total Time: 1 hrs and 5 mins
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (the original recipe stated 2 teaspoon but I used tablespoons and quite liked it..:))
- 1 small fennel bulk (thinly sliced)
- 1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
- 1/2 cup cooking cream light
- 1 cup cheddar (grated)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 2/3 cups fresh breadcrumbs (I used sourdough bread to make these)
- 2 tablespoons parsley (chopped)
Directions:
| Preheat the oven to 200 C. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium low heat; add garlic and fennel. Saute until tender, about 3-4 minutes. | |
| In a pot of boiliing water, blanch the cauliflower until tender. Add to fennel and garlic mixture. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat; add cream and 1/2 cup of cheese and toss together. Season with thyme and salt and pepper where needed. | |
| Pour into a lightly sprayed baking dish. Stir breadcrumbs and parsley together and sprinkle over cauliflower mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and brown |
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Recipe from Sargento
Junglefrog Cooking disclosure: This post was sponsored by Sargento. Though I have been compensated to write this post, all opinions expressed are my own.
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An awesome combination! Perfect with cheddar. I’d love to eat this fabulous gratin now…
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 8th, 2012 at 23:58
I would invite you over (would maybe be good too if you’re feeling under the weather!) but unfortunately Tom ate the last bit…:)
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Agree, this a great dish to introduce newcomers to fennel. Sounds delicious and so easy. Love the color.
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 8th, 2012 at 23:58
It is indeed as the fennel is not too overpowering and that delicious cheddar gives it an amazing color!
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Mmm, it seems there is fennel everywhere on the web today! Love the cheesy look of this dish – and with some mince, this could be a one-pot meal!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 8th, 2012 at 23:59
O yes I will definitely be eating it with mince next time. Would be absolutely perfect..
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Yummy, this looks seriously delicious and I love fennel!
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Simone (junglefrog) — March 8th, 2012 at 23:59
Thanks Jenn!
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I’m in the pro-fennel camp! Using cheddar is an interesting choice, I wouldn’t have thought of it. Looks yummy.
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I’d pitch my tent in the pro camp! Your casserole looks really tempting.
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I’m in the pro camp too! This looks amazing Simone! And the colour of that cheese is glorious!
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I’ve only had it in a soup and I liked it. I guess I need to try more dishes to really love it or hate it… Hehe. I love the cheddar on top
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Hi Simone!
This cauliflower gratin looks SO good!! If you’re interested, we would like to send you an invitation to join our new invite-only food community that we have just launched.
You can request an invite at http://grubsnapper.com/request-invite and we’ll email you a link to join.
Grub Snapper is a community to share and discover delicious new recipes. You can vote and comment on other members’ recipes and follow their activity. We also hope our community will help you promote your food blog to other foodies like us.
We hope to see you soon!
Cheers,
Patrick
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This looks and sounds wonderful–can’t go wrong with garlic and cream, two of my favorites.
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I can see why fennel would be a perfect addition to give the cauliflower a boost. Some days I just like to eat vegetarian and this would be a dinner for me. So delicious. You have away of making things look very appetizing.
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LOVE!! I actually love both cauliflower gratin (we made it recently and add boiled potatoes to cut the flavor and add bulk) and fennel and putting them together is divine! Brilliant! And we never think to use cheddar for gratin, silly us. Will next time. I love this dish, Simone!
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This looks great!! I can’t wait to try it!! =)
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Oooh lovely!! Ha – whenever I tell my husband I want to cook with fennel, he is less than enthused. Yet without fail, every time he has loved the dish I’ve made. It’s pretty amusing how often this cycle repeats, haha. I think he (like many people) always assumes that the anise-like flavor will be overpowering, but it usually mellows out a lot once it’s cooked – I like to just replace onions with it in several dishes. The only time I find it too strong is when it is raw in salads.
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I am a pro fennel lover too!
This dish looks fab & is truly comfort food for me! It looks outstanding too!
A yummy yummy lovely food dish!
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I actually think I’m somewhere in the middle when it comes to fennel (yes, it’s possible), as it really depends how it is prepared or with what it is served… fresh would probably be my least favorite option, but in such an indulgent bake it would surely be good!
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What a treat!! Would totally love this as a hearty breakfast!! or… actually I could probably have this anytime really!
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Yes I would not have thought to combine fennel with cauliflower but it looks like it works. I also like the idea about adding meat and mashed potatoes – a one pan meal!
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This recipe looks really interesting and I will have to give it a try this week for me and my hubby.
Thanks so much for posting it,
Grandma Kat
XOXOXOXOXO
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