chicken and fennel au gratin

By blum099

Ingredients

• Bechamel sauce:
• olive oil
• 2 large fennel bulbs trimmed and cleaned
• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups of bechamel sauce ( to follow)
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan
• chopped parsley
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 slice of onion
• peppercorns
• 2 parsely sprigs
• 2 tablespoons of butter- extra if needed
• 2-3 tablespoons of arrowroot, plus extra if needed

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

preheat oven to 375 F. oil a medium sized roasting pan with the olive oil, making sure it is evenly coated

cook the fennel bulbs whoe, in boiling water, for about 5 minutes. Drain, slice into rounds and put on the bottom of the roasting pan. Put the chicken breast on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour the bechamel over the mixture sprinkle the Parmesan on top of that and bake until bubbling and golden brown about 30-40 minutes. You can put parsley or tarragon on top



Bechamel:
In a sauce pan bring to the boil the milk, bay leaf, onion and peppercorns. Simmer on low for 5 minutes and then remove and strain out the vegetables. Keep the milk to the side

In the same saucepan, melt the butter on low and slowly add the arrowroot, stirring continuously. Add the milk, still stirring. When it has the right consistency and you'll be able to tell and can add more butter or arrowroot if necessary, take it off the heat.