Roasted Cauliflower and Fennel Gratin Recipe

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I have been in search of a special cauliflower and fennel gratin which duplicates one that I had from a restaurant in Los Alamos, California.   In that search I have found these two recipes which come close.  Still tweaking but here's two you can try.

Version 1

                             1/4 cup butter  

·                                 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets (about 2 pounds)  

·                                 1 large fennel bulb, cored, trimmed, and cut into 1/4-inch slices plus 1/2 cup chopped fronds

·                                 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·                                 1/2 teaspoon salt

·                                 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·                                 1/2 cup whipping cream

·                                 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère, Comté, or Swiss cheese

·                                 2/3 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs

·                                 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation

1.                               1. Preheat oven to 450º. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add cauliflower, and sauté 4 minutes. Add fennel slices, and sauté 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with flour, salt, and nutmeg; add fennel fronds, and lightly toss together.

2.                               2. Spoon into a 2-quart gratin or baking dish. Pour cream over mixture. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients.

3. Bake at 450º for 20 minutes or until top is browned and crispy

Version 2

Serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 fennel bulb, sliced

1 head cauliflower cut into florets

1/2 gruyere cheese, grated

1 clove garlic

2/3 cup water or chicken stock, heated

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

dash cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

1/2 tablespoon chives, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast the cauliflower florets in a covered glass baking dish until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into bite sized pieces when cool enough to handle..

Place bread crumbs on a baking sheet pan in a single layer. Bake about 5 minutes, until lightly browned.

While everything is in the oven, saute onions and fennel in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil a dutch oven until translucent.  Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Smash and mince garlic clove and add to the remaining two tablespoons olive oil in a small bowl.  Add the hot water or stock and mix well in blender or with and immersion blender  until it’s creamy looking.

Add the milk to a small sauce pan, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. In a different saucepan, add butter. Whisk the flour into the butter to make a roux. Slowly whisk the milk into the flour mixture and cook over medium until it begins to thicken about 4 minutes.  Add the cayenne pepper and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Turn oven down to oven to 350º. Stir the cauliflower into the fennel and onion mixture and add the béchamel. Pour into a 9″ x 9″ baking dish or small casserole dish and top with gruyere cheese. Cover with foil. Bake, covered for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes or until top is golden brown.

My southern gal friend Sandi posted her take on these recipes in her blog. Take a look at the yummy Cauliflower gratin she made:

http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-calicauli-cookoff.html