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Writer's pictureMangia McCann

Fennel Gratin

2021 Giro d’Italia - Stage 12: Siena to Bagno di Romagna


Today’s stage took the riders eastward through Tuscany and just inside the SW corner of Emilia-Romagna. While Emilia-Romagna is the renown home of a myriad of delicious pastas, I didn’t want to have pasta 2 days in-a-row. Also, had I not made pasta yesterday, I may have missed this lovely gratin of fennel bulbs. I’ve never prepared fennel this way before and it’s kind of life-changing. The flavor is rounded, much like when you roast garlic, and the essence of fennel is not lost in the roasting. This is a new family favorite and I hope you love it as much as we did.


Roasted Fennel Parmesan adapted from The Italian Regional Cookbook, Valentina Harris (Tags: Italian, Vegetables)

A shortcut I used for this recipe was to use a majority of pre-grated parmesan. I usually stay away from the stuff, but when large quantities are required for a recipe, I use the store-bought stuff and top off with freshly grated cheese. Just remember that freshly grated cheese takes up more space than the pre-grates stuff, so you may need to use less pre-grated cheese. Most importantly, if you’re buying pre-grated (or even pre-shredded) cheese, don’t buy large commercial brands (like Kraft) as they have filler and weird, non-cheese items in there. Instead, buy it from a local cheese shop or the cheese counter in a grocery store.

  • 6 large fennel bulbs

  • 1.5 sticks of butter, melted

  • 2 cups freshly grated parmesan

Cut the stems off of the fennel and boil the whole bulbs, for about 30 minutes, in salted water. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350.

Drain and halve the fennel. Brush some of the melted butter in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole dish. Place the halved fennel cut-side down in an even layer. Pour the remaining melted butter over top of the fennel and top with the cheese, along with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Then, turn the broiler on to lightly toast the top for a few minutes. Sprinkle with some extra parmesan and serve. ______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.


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