Potato Gratin with Fennel and Tomato
Ingredients
- 1 bulb of fennel, halved, cored and sliced crosswise as thinly as you can. You can use all of bulb and even most of the stems.
- 1 roaster pepper, cored and cut into 1/2” chunks
- 2 small purple onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 3 roma tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4” rounds
- 1 1/2 lbs of your yellow potatoes cut into very thin rounds
- (use a mandolin if you have one)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 3 tsp thyme (optional)
- 2 Tbl Driftless Sunflower Oil (or olive oil)
- 1/2 cup Heavy cream (or milk)
- 3/4 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a medium sauté pan set over medium heat. Add the fennel, pepper, onion and garlic along with a pinch of salt and toss to coat in the oil.
- When the vegetables begin to sizzle, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until just tender — about 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
- To build the gratin, lightly oil a shallow baking dish. Shingle half of the potatoes into the gratin in
- overlapping rows. Season with salt, pepper and a third of the thyme. Spread the fennel-onion-pepper mixture over the potatoes in an even layer and season.
- Next, layer in the tomatoes, spreading evenly. Season with salt, pepper and the remaining thyme. Layer in the remaining potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the cream over all, jiggling the dish slightly to make sure the cream penetrates all of the
- layers of vegetables. Pour in enough stock so that the vegetables in the middle are just barely covered with liquid when pressed with a spatula or your hands.
- Cover the gratin tightly with foil and place on a baking sheet. Place in the center of a preheated 375° oven and bake until bubbling around the edges—about 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil, scatter the Parmesan evenly over the gratin and continue to bake until the cream is reduced and bubbling thickly, the top is golden brown and the potatoes are tender (another 15-20 minutes).
