Recipe: Karen Martini’s Cheesy Baked Fennel and Leek Is a Hot, Delicious Mess

Question for you. Fennel – underrated? If you’re on the fennel fence, you’ll come right off it once you try this cheesy, fragrant side by Karen Martini

The celebrated Melbourne restaurateur, cookbook author and TV presenter is back on our shelves with two new cookbooks (Cook: Green and Cook: Sweet), and this recipe from the latter pairs the hardy winter veg – beloved in Italian kitchens – with leek and a hot oven with spectacular results. If that won’t bring you to the table, the generous pile of provolone will. 

“This riff on cauliflower cheese has a bit more zip and intensity than its original inspiration,” Martini writes, “with the sweetly anise-tinged fennel a perfect partner to the sharply salty provolone.”

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Baked fennel and leek with cheese sauce by Karen Martini

Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 65 minutes

Ingredients

2 large fennel bulbs, trimmed
4 thin leeks, trimmed
75g provolone, grated

Cheese bechamel sauce

750ml full-cream milk
1 fresh bay leaf
60g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
60g plain flour
100g provolone or parmesan, grated
¼ whole nutmeg, freshly grated, or 1 tsp ground nutmeg
Flaked salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Cook the fennel in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 30 minutes, adding the leeks for the last 8 minutes. Drain well, pressing the moisture out of the leeks using a tea towel. Cut the leeks in half lengthways. Slice the fennel lengthways, about 2–3cm thick. Set aside.

To make the sauce, bring the milk to a simmer with the bay leaf, then remove from the heat.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once foaming, add the flour and stir together into a paste, stirring until the raw aroma of the flour has been cooked out, about 1 minute. Over a low heat, gradually whisk in the milk until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, then stir in the provolone and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.

Rub a shallow baking dish with butter, then lay the fennel over the base. Scatter the leek over and season. Pour the sauce over the top, sprinkle with the remaining provolone, then bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly golden. Serve hot.

This is an edited extract from Cook: Green by Karen Martini published by Hardie Grant Books. Photography by Armelle Habib.