Today we are preparing air fryer or oven baked fennel gratin with cherry tomatoes and olives. A healthy, economical, tasty, and quick-to-prepare dish, great as a side dish or as a main course if we want to eat lighter.
The fennel gratin can be cooked in both a conventional oven or an air fryer. Or for those who prefer, directly in a pan.
The gratin can indeed be achieved in the oven/air fryer or in a pan, and in this article, I’ll explain how to do it.
I don’t know about you, but I love gratinated food, it’s truly delicious! Whether it’s a pasta dish, a second course with meat or fish, or a side dish. With that golden crust on top, everything becomes tastier!
This tasty and fun side dish is also suitable for those with gluten intolerance or lactose. Simply replace Parmigiano Reggiano DOP with vegetable grated cheese to make this dish perfect for everyone, including vegetarians, vegans.
The Mediterranean-style fennel gratin is truly irresistible, with that crunchy surface formed by the breading. And if you don’t like fennel, you can create this recipe using the vegetables you prefer.
To make this recipe, I used the AIR FRYER BY FATTO IN CASA DA BENEDETTA, gifted to me directly by her ❣️
Since Christmas is getting closer, if you’re thinking of gifting yourself or someone special, I have a gift for you! I’ll give you a discount code (GABRIELLAGERONI10) equivalent to 10% off the sale price for purchasing Benedetta Rossi’s air fryer.
The promotion expires in December, shipping is free, and delivery is guaranteed by Christmas if the order is placed by December 17th.
To take advantage of the promotion, valid only until the end of December 2024, the purchase must be made exclusively on Benedetta’s online shop: here
For any info, leave me a comment and I will be happy to respond.
Please read to the end, you will find useful tips for executing this recipe and a little gift for you 🩷
If like me you are a fan of gratinated foods, here are some other tasty ideas that might interest you:
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Electric oven, Air frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 fennels
- 7 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1.75 oz Taggiasca olives (or green or black olives)
- 1.75 oz breadcrumbs (gluten-free for intolerant people)
- 1.41 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (or vegetable grated cheese for vegans)
- 1 clove garlic (only if you like it)
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- to taste smoked paprika (or aromatic herbs to taste)
- salt
Tools
- Air fryer paper
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Absorbent paper
Steps
First of all, we need to clean the vegetables. Wash the cherry tomatoes thoroughly and cut them in half.
Then take the fennels, remove the outer tough and damaged leaves, and slice them not too thick. Wash under water.
Pat dry the cherry tomatoes and fennels with paper towels. This way, we will dry the excess water, allowing the breading not to turn into mush.
Take a large bowl, add fennels and cherry tomatoes inside, season with olive oil, salt, and smoked paprika or pepper if preferred.
Add the breadcrumbs and grated Parmigiano (or vegetable grated cheese for vegans) and mix well with your hands or with two spoons.
Finally, add the Taggiasca olives (only if you like them), or black or green olives.
Take a baking tray, place a sheet of parchment paper inside, and pour all the mixture inside.
A drizzle of oil and straight to cooking!
As I mentioned, for this recipe, I used my new air fryer, gifted by Benedetta ❣️
I preheated it and then cooked in “vegetable mode,” temperature already set by the program, with an automatic time of 20 minutes.
Halfway through cooking, remove the air fryer’s basket and turn all the vegetables to the other side.
After almost 18 minutes, my vegetables were already cooked, and I turned off the air fryer.
If you use the air fryer, let me give you a tip! Add the Taggiasca olives only at the end and not together with the other ingredients.
More precisely, add the olives in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking, otherwise, they dry out too much.
Preheat the oven to 392°F static mode. Cook for about 30 minutes, and the last 10 put in convection mode to brown the surface.
For those who prefer using the stovetop instead of the oven, it’s also possible to gratin in a pan.
Just pour a good amount of oil on the bottom of the pan (choose a nice large one) and place the washed and cut vegetables inside, but NOT BREADED.
Cook over high heat until they are nice and tender. At that point, cover the surface with breadcrumbs and Parmigiano and mix well to coat everything.
Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Then cover with a lid, turn off the gas, and wait a few minutes before serving.
Once ready, all you have to do is plate your Mediterranean-style fennel gratin and enjoy a dish as simple as it is delicious!
Let me know in the comments if you liked this recipe and come back soon to visit me ❤️
Article protected by copyright © – Gabriella Geroni © All Rights Reserved
