Ocean Mist Farms, located in Northern California, is a fourth generation grower of specialty vegetables traditionally used in Italian cooking such as artichokes, fans, cardone, and fennel. Fresh fennel is now in season and I was fortunate to receive samples of this unique vegetable from Ocean Mist Farms.
Fennel can be used in many ways: raw, baked, or sauteed. It is terrific in salads or soups and a variety of dishes. Also, all parts of fennel can be used in cooking: the bulb, stalks, and fronds. I decided to make a Fennel and Apple Gratin that turned out to be a terrific side dish.
Ingredients:
1-2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of salt
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped
2 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and fennel. Cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and cover and cook for another five minutes. Add apples, stir, and cook until fennel and apples are getting soft, for another few minutes.
Add the fennel-apple mixture to a baking dish. In a bowl, combine cream, nutmeg, dry mustard, and salt. Pour over the fennel-apple mixture. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and fennel fronds. Pour the melted butter over and mix well until the breadcrumbs are moistened uniformly throughout. Cover the fennel-apple mixture with the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
