How to Make Fennel, Broccoli and Potato Bake

This hearty bake is a reliable fail safe if you have a surplus of these ingredients, or had bought fennel but have no idea what to do with it. It is excellent as a side dish.

Ingredients

1 whole fennel bulb, washed.
1 medium broccoli cut into small florets
3 medium potatoes
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon worth of fresh parsley chopped
2 tablespoons of flour (variation: 2.5 tablespoons Gravy powder)
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying.

Steps

1
Prepare your fennel by slicing off the green leafy sprouts and cut in half from the top down. It should now resemble a large onion cut in half. Slice these into thin wedges (head to tail, each cut on an angle going inwards to the centre) about 1 centimeter (0.4 in) thick.
2
Peel & slice your potatoes into thin slices (approx 1/6th inch or just under half a centimetre).

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3
Heat a saucepan of water large enough to hold the sliced vegetables (except the potato) until just boiling & heat a non stick pan with a little oil.
4
Fry the potato slices in the pan until a nice golden colour. They don't need to be fully cooked through, but browning the slices will give more flavour. Put aside when cooked on a plate lined with a paper towel.
5
Blanch the broccoli florets about half a minute before removing with a slotted spoon. Aim to have them about half cooked through. Then add the fennel in the same boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain the vegetables and put aside. This way the vegetables will cook quicker in the oven and cook more evenly.
- It is not essential to blanch the broccoli, but raw broccoli will add a different flavour to the dish and may be a little too undercooked when the rest of the ingredients are cooked through.
6
Melt the butter in the other saucepan and add the flour (or gravy variation), stirring well to make a "roux".
7
Add the milk gradually stirring well until smooth and simmer for 2-3 minutes. It should be the consistency of pouring cream, if it's consistency is more liquid, cook a little longer, if too thick add a little more milk.
8
Add salt and pepper to taste and the garlic to the sauce, stirring well.
9
Heat oven to 200C/392F
10
Layer in a baking dish layers of fennel, broccoli and fried potato, pouring the sauce in occasionally to ensure even distribution. Top with the remains of the sauce.
- If you cooked the sauce in a large pan, you may also add all vegetables into the sauce, stirring to cover then transferring to the baking dish. This is a lot quicker but the final product does not look as neat if you are cooking for a special event.
11
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Top with the chopped parsley and serve.

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Warnings

Practice care precautions around hot dishes.

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Things You'll Need

Knife & Cutting board
2 saucepans & 1 colander,
1 frying pan & spatula
Plate with some paper towel
Stirring implements
2 Litre (approx) Baking dish. You may otherwise use the frying pan you fried the potato in if it is large enough and oven safe.