Fennel Gratin

I get asked for this recipe ALL THE TIME so here it is finally! A healthy vegetable disguised in cream, butter and cheese! Simple method and only requires a touch of patience and love.

PASTRY:

175g plain flour
75g cold butter cubed
75g cheddar grated
60ml cold water
pinch of sea salt

FILLING:
2 medium sized fennel weighing around 250g each
1 small onion or banana shallot
50ml double cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
50g grated parmesan
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

METHOD:
To make the pastry place the flour, butter, cheddar and salt in a large mixing bowl and rub together till the butter has incorporated into the flour, doesn't matter if the mixture is a bit lumpy. Add the water and mix together to form a rough dough, try not to over mix this will give the pastry a better flake. Wrap pastry in cling film and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Grease a 22cm fluted tart baking dish with removable base and put the oven on at 200oC.
Once the pastry has rested roll out on floured surface till about 4-5mm thick then line the tart dish with the pastry, press down on the corners and pinch at the edges. Place the pastry case back in the fridge to rest for another 30 minutes.
Start on the filling, place a small pot of water on high heat to boil. Then slice the fennel down the middle and cut out the base and remove the stalk on top and discard. Finely slice the fennel and onion, place into the pot of water with a good pinch of sea salt cook for around 7-10 minutes till tender then drain and tip the fennel back into pot and season well with salt and pepper and stir in the olive, leave to cool.
With a fork prick the base of the pastry 10 times then line with grease proof paper and pour some rice or dried legumes onto the grease proof and blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes carefully remove the grease proof paper and legumes and bake the pastry for a further 5 minutes till golden brown.
When the pastry has cooked evenly spread out the fennel round the casing and sprinkle the top with parmesan and cracked pepper. Using a small jug pour a slow thin stream of cream into the center of the tart and work your way round in a spiral till all the cream has been added. Bake the tart in the oven set at 180oC for 20 minutes. Once cooked you can either eat this tart hot or cold.