Nonna Carla's oven-baked fennel

A testament to Northern Italian cooking, these fennel bulbs are baked in milk and butter for a tender, creamy vegetable, complete with a hearty sprinkle of cheese.

Credit: Rob Palmer

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 fennel bulbs (about 350 g each), trimmed and cut into 5 mm thick slices, fronds reserved
• 500 ml (2 cups) milk
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• a few thyme sprigs
• 50 g (½ cup) freshly grated parmigiano
• salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, skin on, bashed with the back of a knife
• 30 g butter, cut into cubes
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C.

2. Place the fennel slices in a large baking dish. Add the milk, nutmeg, thyme and parmigiano, and season with salt and pepper. Top with the garlic, butter and olive oil.

3. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the fennel is soft and the top is golden.

4. Season with salt and pepper, scatter over the reserved fennel fronds and serve immediately.

Simple Italian by Silvia Colloca, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99, Photography by Rob Palmer

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.