Parmigiana di finocchi e patate – Fennel and potato parmigiana

Mid April and spring has not made its mind up yet. Days can be stunning, with blue skies dotted with clouds but it is still cold. Yesterday evening we made a fire.
In shops and at the market one can find  spring vegetables (peas, broad beans, artichokes)and winter bitter greens, leeks and fennels. April really is the time of the year when winter and spring shake hands.

I took advantage of the last good fennels to make this dish. I call it parmigiana because the vegetables are layered neatly, just like in an aubergine parmigiana, instead of being dropped higgledy-piggedy in the oven dish, the way I would be tempted to do with a gratin. 
Both fennels and potatoes are sliced thinly (a mandolin helps immensely) and layered uncooked, with a basic tomato sauce and some pecorino and mozzarella. It takes a rather long time to cook (about ninety minutes) and it benefits if it is given a long rest for the vegetables to settle into a more compact form. Reheat it gently before serving, but not piping hot. In Italy, fennels are cheap, abundant and of good quality: if that’s not the case where you are, just use the one perhaps and increase the potatoes – even a faint background aniseed flavour makes this dish special.

6-8 portions
3 large fennels, net weight about 1 kg, once cleaned of the exterior tough leaves
3 large, peeled baking potatoes, net weight about 700g
a basic tomato sauce, made with 3 x 400g tins crushed tomatoes, chopped onion or garlic and oil or butter
80g grated pecorino or parmigiano
One mozzarella, net weight about 200g, drained, sliced and each slice patted dry in between kitchen paper

a round oven dish, 30cm in diameter and 5cm deep, oiled

Turn on your oven and set the temperature to 180C, convection. 

Slice both vegetables a couple of millimetres thin, keeping them separate. Dress them with a generous glug of oil, salt and pepper: the best way to do this is to use your hands, digging down into the bowl and giving everything a good massage, lifting the slices, rubbing them one against the other to separate them and to coat them with oil as thoroughly as possible.

Spread some tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish and start layering: fennel first, each slice slightly overlapping the next one, a drizzle of oil, some pecorino, some mozzarella, a little salt, then a layer of potatoes, extra oil and so on.

I managed five layers, starting and finishing with fennel. Press down the top layer, cover it with the remaining tomato sauce and a good shower of pecorino. Criss cross with oil, cover with an oiled sheet of tinfoil and bake in the middle of the oven for one hour. Remove the foil and bake for a further thirty minutes or until the top is deep red, most of the vegetable water has evaporated and a vegetables are knife tender.

Let it settle for a few hours. Serve warm, reheating gently or serve at room temperature.