The baked fennel gratin with béchamel sauce is a simple and tasty dish, perfect for those looking for a quick yet flavorful recipe. The creaminess of the béchamel perfectly complements the delicacy of the fennel, creating a refined side dish that impresses at the first taste. It’s a traditional Italian preparation, ideal for accompanying meat or fish mains, but also as a light and nutritious main course.
This baked fennel with béchamel recipe is easy to make and requires few genuine ingredients: fresh fennel, milk, butter, and flour for the béchamel, a pinch of nutmeg, and a golden gratin that makes the dish irresistible. It’s a great idea to make fennel more appealing even to children and to bring an elegant side dish to the table on special occasions.
Thanks to its versatility, the baked fennel gratin with béchamel can be prepared in advance and reheated when ready to serve, retaining all its creaminess and fragrance. A recipe that combines tradition, simplicity, and taste, perfect for enriching your daily or festive menu.
If you love rich side dishes, try the milk carrots, taleggio-stuffed potatoes, fennel cutlets, or baked pumpkin and mushroom crumble.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients for Baked Fennel Gratin with Béchamel Sauce
- 3 Fennel
- 2 cups Milk
- 6 tbsps Flour
- 4 tbsps Butter
- 3.5 oz Asiago Cheese
- to taste Salt
- 1.75 oz Grana Padano DOP
- 1.5 tbsps Butter
Tools for Preparation
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- 1 Baking Dish
- Saucepan
- Whisk
Preparation of Baked Fennel Gratin with Béchamel Sauce
Wash the fennel, slice the hardest part. Cut them into wedges and boil or steam them for about ten minutes.
Prepare the béchamel by browning the flour with the butter. Add the milk whisking with a hand whisk. Salt, season with nutmeg, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce coats the spoon.
Cut the cheese into cubes. In a baking dish, spread a thin layer of béchamel, arrange the fennel wedges, cheese cubes, and cover with the remaining béchamel.
Grate the Grana Padano, or Parmigiano if you prefer, or a seasoned cheese of your choice. Add to the fennel and decorate with a few knobs of butter. Preheat the static oven to 356°F, bake and gratinate for 20 minutes.
Storage
Store the fennel in the fridge for two or three days.
