Slices of fennel and sweet tomatoes are baked in a creamy sauce with hints of Parmesan cheese in this vegetable gratin.
A warm gratin is a bubbling dish of soothing comfort, with the magic all happening as it bakes and bubbles in the heat of the oven. And really, gratins are all about the ingredients, and the creaminess that binds them together; this one is simple as can be. 
Thinly sliced ripe tomatoes are joined by the subtle anise notes of fennel, salty black olives, a dollop of crème fraiche and a good grating of Parmesan to top it all off.
A subtly sweet and silky tangle of fennel and cream provides a nice bed for the tomatoes to rest on. When baked together, the tiles of tomatoes soften and slump together just slightly under the heat, their flavor concentrating and intensifying.
After a brief steam (making it softer and less assertive than in raw form) the fennel cooks down even further into creamy pockets of sauce underneath the tomatoes. Crusty and golden brown, the Parmesan topping adds another layer of depth to the dish.
The seductively rich taste of the fennel baked in the creamy sauce is offset by the sweet acidity of the tomatoes and the brininess from the scattered bits of olives.
It’s surprisingly creamy yet light and well-suited for making the slow transition from summer to fall. It’s the kind of dish that will be making a frequent appearance at my dinner table on those sunny days followed by cool evenings as we head into the next season.
Tomato Fennel Gratin Recipe
Slices of fennel are baked in a cream sauce and topped with tomatoes, olives and a good grating of Parmesan in this rustic gratin.
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 small Roma tomatoes
- 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, stalks removed
- 2oz/ 56g crème fraiche
- 2 TB/30g of black olive tapenade (store bought or homemade)
- ½ cup/56g finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino (divided)
- A handful of fresh thyme leaves
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes into ¼-inch thick slices. If your tomatoes are very juicy, layer the tomato slices into a colander, sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and drain excess moisture from the tomatoes for 20 minutes.
- Trim fennel bulbs and halve lengthwise through the core, and thinly slice each half.
- Fit a pan with a steamer basket and several inches of water. Steam fennel for 8 to 10 minutes or until fennel is tender.
- In a bowl, toss together steamed fennel, crème fraiche, olive tapenade, half of the thyme leaves and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper.
- Butter the bottom of a small baking or gratin dish.
- Place fennel mixture at the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange the tomato slices over the fennel in overlapping rows. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and thyme leaves.
- Bake at 35o for 20 to 25 minutes, uncovered until the cheese starts to brown and the gratin is bubbling. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Gluten Free, Grain Free, Vegetarian, Primal
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
Serves 4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 428mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
mycookinghut says
Gorgeous! Looks yummy too!
nipponnin says
Great! I was thinking what to do all those tomatoes in my garden but here is the solution! Beautiful photos are also nice invitation to try new recipe.
Buttoni says
I'm actually not very fond of fennel, but your recipe sounds like just the right blending of flavors to counter the heavy licorice taste of that vegetable! I look forward to trying this soon.
Gerlinde in Dallas says
Wow! Your tomato fennel gratin looks amazing!
Sylvia@bascooking says
Wow Sylvie what a beautiful post.Love tomatoes, beautiful and full flavor dish
Vanille says
Can't wait for summer and tomato season to try this gratin. An original combination !
Naomi says
Love the fresh flavors and simple preparartion of this dish.
And as always-gorgeous!
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
Hi Sylvie,
I've been meaning to ask you for a while now if you plan on writing a book about food. I've always loved the way you describe your dishes, the more I read the more I see myself in your kitchen taking a bite.
I hope you do, i'd probably have a hard time leaving it before I finish reading
Sylvie says
Thanks Roxana, that's really nice of you to say. There are no plans for a book at the moment but you never know maybe sometime down the road!
Lisa | With Style and Grace says
Beautiful! I love how fresh and simple this dish is - plus the fact that it's naturally gluten-free 🙂
Peppers says
Help, I am in the middle of making this recipe, ready to put in the oven, but I cannot find where you state what temperature the oven needs to be? Am I just blind? 350????
Sylvie says
Good catch, thanks for letting me know! Yes 350 to 375 is a good range for this.