Potato, Fennel & Cauliflower Bake

This potato, fennel & cauliflower bake was a bit of an experiment that turned out to be a winner. I harvested a lovely big fennel bulb from my winter vegetable garden (along with a head of cauliflower that wasn’t going to win any beauty contest) and wondered what to do with it. I’d heard that you could use fennel with potatoes in a ‘gratin’ (cheese sauce) dish, so decided to put all the ingredients in, along with some bacon, to make an all in one dish comfort food dish.

3 potatoes
1 fennel bulb
1 head cauliflower
250g streaky bacon (use more or less if preferred)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1-2 cups whole milk (as needed)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheese
Parsley to garnish

Thinly slice the potatoes and fennel. Chop cauliflower in to small florets.

Fry bacon in a large frypan until browned. Drain on paper towels. Chop or crumble, and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and starting to bubble. Gradually whisk in milk while stirring constantly so that no lumps form. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth, adding a handful at a time. Set aside.

Use 1/3 of the potatoes to make a layer in the bottom of a greased baking dish. Then layer with 1/3 of the fennel and cauliflower, top with 1/3 of the bacon and some parsley. Pour about 1/3 of the cheese sauce over everything. Repeat layers twice more. I used less sauce because I didn’t want it to be too “goopy”. Cover the dish with a lid or tinfoil.

Bake in oven for 1 1/2 hours at 160C. If desired, remove the cover during the last 30 minutes to allow the top to brown – mine browned pretty well without it.