Mushroom and Fennel Pie

I love cooking with fennel it adds a whole new dimension of flavor to whatever dish it is in, and I have a ton of it in the garden right now. Speaking of Fall vegetables here is an awesome link to Bon Appetit's page "cooking with Fall vegetables." I adapted this recipe from ezrapoundcake blog. I made this recipe after going on a wonderful Fall evening hike with my mother so I was ready for a hardy dish such as this.

Serves 5

The Ingredients

1 pound of russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons milk (fat free)

1 tablespoon butter

1 large fennel bulb, roughly cut

1 large carrot, sliced

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon parsley
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
4 oz feta
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, granulated
1 crown broccoli, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil


The Process
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.) Cook potatoes in salted boiling water for 15 minutes, until tender. Then drain and mash. While potatoes are still hot mix in the milk and butter.

3.) Cook fennel and carrot in salted boiling water for 7 minutes, drain and set aside.

4.) Heat some olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, when hot add onions and cook for 10 minutes or until they start to brown.

5.) Then add garlic, broccoli, mushrooms, parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

6.) In a greased casserole baking dish sprinkle half of the bread crumbs in the bottom. Add half of the mushroom and onion mixture (spread each layer evenly). Next layer half of the carrot and fennel mixture. Next layer add half of each of the cheeses and then layer half of the potatoes. Repeat one more time and sprinkle the top layer of potatoes with Parmesan cheese.

7.) Bake for 25 minutes and then broil for about 5 minutes to brown the top.