Diane Morgan's Gratin of Fennel and Tomato

After a long weekend of excess (crab cakes, scrapple *gasp*, and Hershey kisses at the beach with dear friends; a four-course 30th birthday dinner capped off by chocolate cake from Billy's; croque madame and attitude for Sunday brunch followed by bottles of beer and our first run of Ben's backyard grill on Sunday afternoon... are you feeling ill yet? I know I am), I was in dire need of a healthy meal to reassure me that I wasn't about to die of a coronary at the ripe old age of 28. I scoured my binders for something to fit the bill.

Sometimes a recipe comes along that is just what it seems: straightforward to prepare, reasonably healthy, and tasty to boot. There isn't much to say about recipes like that, and I often ignore them on the blog, in favor of food that packs a bigger punch. But it isn't fair to those simpler recipes, and I often find that people in search of easy cooking are partial to that kind of food anyway. Luckily for me, the recipe I chose to make was all of the above, and just the ticket for dinner.

The LA Times reviewed Diane Morgan's Thanksgiving cookbook several years ago, and excerpted a few of her recipes in the paper, including one for a gratin of fennel and tomatoes. Although this is apparently meant to be a holiday dish, I found it just as delicious in spring (though I do see how perfect it would taste alongside a roasted bird and a few dozen other dishes). It's quite flavorful, but the cooked fennel is creamier and less aggressive than its raw version. Combined with the tomatoes and onions and garlic, it melds into a soothing, yet healthy dish.

One change I'd make is to toast the breadcrumbs in some olive oil or butter so that when the gratin bakes in the oven, the topping crisps up instead of staying dusty and dry. Eating a plateful of this for dinner with a slice of bread made me (and my arteries) feel right as rain.

Gratin of Fennel and Tomato
Serves 10 as a side dish

3/4 cup dried bread crumbs
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, halved and cut in 1/4-inch slices
6 fennel bulbs, trimmed of stalks, halved, cored and cut in 1/4-inch slices
1 (28-ounce) can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmigiano
Grated zest of 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toast the breadcrumbs in an 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. Heat the onion in a very large (16-inch) skillet over medium heat, and swirl to coat the pan. Cook the garlic and onion until soft, but not brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the fennel and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the fennel has softened and is beginning to brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a shallow 3-quart oven-to-table casserole or gratin dish.

4. Combine the breadcrumbs, grated cheese and lemon zest in a bowl and sprinkle evenly over the fennel mixture. The gratin can be made up to this point 6 to 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature before baking.

5. Bake the gratin until heated through and the topping is crisp, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Comments

[Lindy]

Fennel is so refreshing, isn't it? Love it. I like it raw, too, in a slaw kind of thing.

This sounds like it really hit the spot.
I like the fact that with fennel you get the bulb and then the fronds, too. A two for one package.

Sometimes to make sure a gratin topping browns-I hit it with a bit of olive oil spray before putting it in the oven. Does that sound cheesy?
It does work though, and if you try to do it drizzing olive oil, it takes quite a bit of oil.

[Lindy]

PS Cool plate!

[Sally]

A few months ago, I discovered roasted fennel. I can't stand it raw, but when roasted it's unbelievable. I've become obsessed with it and this recipe falls right in with my current madness. Thanks for digging it up! (Is the 20-minute roasting time enough for the fennel to lose its black licorious flavor?)

[Rebecca]

The topping on this sounds like a good place to use panko for extra crunch. You are inspiring me to try fennel; I've only cooked with it once or twice in my life.

p.s. I do love scrapple, though!

[gemma]

Tomato and fennel are to me what cilantro and dill are to you.....
Even though you describe it beautifully I am pretty sure I won't be trying this one xx
p.s I heard your friend turned 29, not 30 :)

[pam]

does fennel taste like celery? because i loathe celery. it looks like it, which is scary enough for me.

[Jessika]

I don't think fennel tastes like celery. Fennel is great in any fish and seafood soup, seasoned with saffron. The taste is leaning towards a slight liquoricey side. In baking recipes anise and fennel are combined to offer a great seasoning of bread.
Botanically, celery (apium graveolens) and fennel (foeniculum vulgare) are not related. You'll have to try though to see if you like it or not.

[Diane Morgan]

Diane Morgan here! Just saw the posting of my Fennel Gratin and wanted to say thank you for your kind words and enthusiasm for my recipe. It is a family favorite, a Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same if it was not included, but I agree, it makes a perfect springtime dish when fennel is fresh in the market. It would be great with grilled leg of lamb, grill-roasted lemon and herb chicken, or even pork tenderloin.
Thanks! Diane

[mimsie]

Just made this tonight and it was great!
Do you have any suggestions on what to do with the fennel stalks? It seems like such a waste.

[Luisa]

Lindy - spraying olive oil doesn't sound cheesy at all. I'm always irritated when I have to "drizzle" it, and it gets all over the place, unevenly. And yes, raw fennel is a revelation. There are times when I could eat it every day, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice and flaky salt.

Sally - the licorice flavor of fennel becomes quite muted and creamy when cooked, especially since in this recipe it's combined tomatoes and onions. But that anise flavor doesn't entirely go away - that's part of the appeal (for some), I suppose. But if you like roasted fennel, I'll bet you'll like this.

Rebecca - Panko is a great idea!

Gemma - I knew you were a tomato-hating nut. Which is entirely crazy, but since you respect my cilantro-dill aversion, I guess I'll respect your tomato-fennel aversion. ;)

Pam - nope it tastes nothing like celery. They have the same sort of cell structure, but totally different tastes. If you're new to fennel, I'd first try it sliced veeeeery thin and tossed with olive oil and salt and lemon juice. If the anise flavor is too strong for you, you could try it roasted or in this dish. It's much less assertive. Can you find it down in NO?

Diane - those are great ideas to serve with the gratin. So glad you stopped by!

Mimsie - in Italy, people stuff halved tomatoes with a breadcrumb-garlic-wild-fennel-frond stuffing. Wild fennel has a slightly different flavor, but you could do the same with regular fennel fronds. Just chop them up and add them to a bowl with breadcrumbs, olive oil, chopped garlic, maybe even a chopped caper or two and stuff them into tomatoes with their tops chopped off before baking them in the oven until shriveled. Delicious!

[Charles]

Mimsie - from cookinglight.com:

• Fennel stalks can take the place of celery in soups and stews, and can be used as a "bed" for roasted chicken and meats.

• Use fronds as a garnish, or chop them and use as you would other herbs, like dill or parsley. Chopped fennel works especially well in Italian tomato sauces, but add it late in the cooking process so the flavor isn't diluted.

[Hollowlegs]

Woefully behind the times here but I will comment regardless. I'm a long time afficionado of the fennel in both its cooked and raw forms (excuse the use of 'the' - it's how my friends and I refer to our favourite fruits and vegetables eg the quince etc). It being winter here in Australia, fennel is everywhere, and I cannot resist buying it.
So, how did this shape up? Well, due to laziness I didn't make breadcrumbs. Rather, I toasted some bread and chopped it into small dice and mixed it with pine nuts and parmesan. The lemon zest was dismissed on the basis that the dezested lemon from Sunday's dinner needed using. So a squeeze of juice went into the cooked fennel.
Lack of attention on my part caused me to overlook the requirement to drain the can of tomatoes, so that went in complete with juice. The result? Delicious and there are plenty of leftovers so that my fennel feast can continue later in the week.

[noel]

I always add some tomatoe puree - makes for a richer flavour

[invierta proyectos]

I´ll make today.