No need to peel your potatoes for this tart; use every last bit. The key to sweet, flavoursome fennel is slow cooking. Remember to use the whole bulb so there’s no waste. Eaten raw, the strong aniseed flavour becomes apparent, but when it’s cooked slowly it’s much more subtle. Keep a few fronds for decoration.
POTATO, FENNEL AND HAVARTI TART
Serves 4-6
3 medium potatoes, skin on
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 bulb fennel, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup white wine
1 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
400g puff pastry
100g Havarti, grated
1 cup rocket leaves, to serve
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Par-cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 5-8 minutes. Remove and cool.
- In a frying pan warm the oil. Add the fennel and garlic, cooking slowly for 15 minutes until the fennel is completely softened but not brown. Add the wine, cooking until it absorbs. Season with salt, pepper and stir through the thyme.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured bench to roughly 20 x 30cm. Cut a slit around the border 1cm from the edge, not cutting right through the pastry.
- Spread the fennel over the base leaving the border clear. Slice the potatoes thinly and arrange over the top. Sprinkle with the Havarti. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed and the top golden brown. Serve topped with rocket leaves.
