Potatoes Au Gratin With Fennel

I mentioned in my last post about the box of produce, that I was thinking of making this potato dish. It took until the third week, but I did get around to making it.

A few comments, I ended up with way to much sauce (as you can see in the photo). I had plenty of potato, so it was not that I shortchanged on the potatoes. So if I ever made this again, I would definitely cut down at bit on the amount of sauce.

Otherwise, it was good. The recipe is from All Recipes, check it out.

Potatoes Au Gratin with Fennel.

Ingredients:
1 pound sliced bacon
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk, or as needed
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
7 leaves fresh basil, chopped

Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Fry bacon in a large skillet until browned. Drain on paper towels. Chop or crumble, and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and starting to bubble. Gradually whisk in milk while stirring constantly so that no lumps form. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with white pepper, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth, adding a handful at a time. Set aside.

3. Use 1/3 of the potatoes to make a layer in the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with 1/3 of the fennel, 1/3 of the bacon and 1/3 of the basil. Pour about 1/3 of the cheese sauce over everything. Repeat layers two more times or until you run out of room. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover during the last 30 minutes to allow the top to brown if desired.