new potato & fennel bake with parmesan

I love the Mediterranean new potatoes from Woolies, they have so much more flavour than regular potatoes and are lower in GI.  I have also started to really enjoy fennel.  It has such a distinct taste which adds another dimension to a dish.

This is so simple to make and is a perfect side dish to a roast or a grilled piece of meat or fish. I love the texture combinations of the softer potatoes with crispy edges and the slightly crunchy fennel.

What you need to make this: (use this as a rough guide, quantities don’t really matter too much here)

• 550gm new potatoes (I used the Mediterranean potatoes from Woolies)
• 6 baby fennel bulbs (about 2 large), roughly chopped
• 1 Tbs of the chopped fennel leaves and extra for garnish (keep these and use in other dishes)
• a small grating of ground nutmeg (pinch)
• 2 Tbs chilli infused oil (I wanted to add a slight kick) – optional or replace with olive oil
• 4 Tbs olive oil 
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• about 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan (or Pecorino)

How to make this:

• Pre heat the oven to 180 C (350 F)
• Wash the potatoes and cut in half leaving the skin on
• cut the fennel bulbs into thick slices (chunks)
• place the vegetables in a bowl and add the oil, nutmeg, salt, pepper and fennel leaves and toss to coat
• Place in a shallow oven proof dish and bake for 45 – 60  minutes until golden brown
• remove and sprinkle over the cheese and few freshly chopped fennel leaves

*PS: I love to use a variety of infused oil in my cooking as an easy way to add depth of flavour.  Verlaque has a lovely range of infused oil, or I make my own.