By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 10 minutes plus 10 minutes cooling time
- Rating
- 5(949)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Two types of greens provide delicious contrast in this comforting yet light dish, which is perfect for a weeknight dinner or a festive side. It's a flexible recipe, lending itself to all sorts of adaptations. Make it once, and then make it your own.
Featured in: Not Your Grandmother’s Gratin
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 4 to 6
- Salt to taste
- 1bunch black kale, stemmed and washed in 2 changes water
- 3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, finely chopped
- 1½pounds bulb fennel, trimmed, quartered, cored and chopped (about 4 cups chopped)
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2large garlic cloves, minced
- ¼cup chopped fresh dill
- 3eggs
- ½cup low-fat milk (2 percent)
- 1cup cooked rice, preferably short-grain
- 3ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (¾ cup)
- ¼cup breadcrumbs, or a mixture of breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
289 calories; 17 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 618 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add a generous amount of salt and add kale. Blanch for 2 to 3 minutes, remove from the water with a deep fry skimmer or a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of cold water. Drain and, taking the greens up by the handful, squeeze hard to expel excess water. Chop medium-fine or cut in thin ribbons.
Step
2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add fennel. Cook, stirring often, until the fennel begins to soften. Add salt to taste and continue to cook, stirring often, until the fennel is very tender and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and kale, stir together for another minute, then stir in dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.
Step
3
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in milk and salt to taste (I use about ½ teaspoon). Stir in fennel and kale mixture, rice and Gruyère, and combine well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Scrape into baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top if using, and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of oil. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until set and the top and sides are beginning to color. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. This is good hot, warm, or room temperature.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can make the filling up to 2 days ahead through step 2 and keep in the refrigerator in a covered container. The gratin can be made up to a day ahead and reheated in a medium oven for about 20 minutes.
Ratings
5
out of 5
949
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Mark
Made it with cauliflower that was grounded in the food processor instead of rice. Worked extremely well.
Lillian
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned...I added chopped browned breakfast sausage to this recipe and it was amazingly delicious!
Olive Oyl
Afterwards, when facing more dirty pans than usual, I gave some thought to it and next time I'd do it in steps: sauté the veggies in the large pan and remove to a bowl; then cook the grain(s) in the pan - wild rice first, then add brown, then add white and remove to bowl when done. Then chop and steam the greens. Add back everything, mix; pour in the egg/milk and mix again, then pour into gratin pan to bake.
Martha Rose Shulman
Black kale is the dark green kale sometimes called Tuscan kale. The leaves aren't curly. But you can substitute other types of kale here.
Lyn
This is so delicious. I followed the recipe the first time, and now I just riff of it... Fennel is a mainstay, as I like how the aniseed-y flavour adds flavour (so you can go easy on the cheese sauce). Tuscan Kale can be swapped for spinach, or silverbeet. But tuscan kale keeps well in the fridge, and is much easier to clean, unlike spinach which takes umpteen washes in lots of water). I've also mixed through some quinoa or lentils into the rice. Reheats well for lunches!
Elena
I was rushing & hungry so I played a little fast and loose with the measurements here. Substituted brown rice & regular kale, and added extra cheese because, well, life is short
marymc
This was really good. Fennel is good with the heavy greens. Just enough cheese to add flavor. Not too rich. I had half a bunch of kale so I used beet greens that I had to fill it out. Delicious!
Kelly B
Great recipe-I used a wild rice blend instead of a short grained rice, which gave it a nutty, more complex flavor. I also used gluten-free panko in place of the breadcrumbs (otherwise followed the recipe). It was delicious! Even my husband, who is not a kale fan, liked the dish--
Laura
I loved this gratin. It had never occurred to me to use rice as the base of a gratin, but now I am thinking of lots of variations on the basic theme. Thank you, Martha Rose Shulman!
Walker in Raleigh
This was the surprise star of our Thanksgiving feast.
Julie
The first time I made this, found it to be quite bland, minimal fennel flavor. Second time, repeated your sin and it was considerably improved. Thank you for leading me astray!
Rachael
Fantastic. Will make again. The whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Only changes made were to use a combo of parsley, thyme, and oregano for the herbs and stock for the milk. Could cut back on the gruyere (but it is really good the way it is!)
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS
Step by step without any changes this is a spot on fantastic dish.
Karma
Amazing recipe! Tastes phenomenal! I used leeks instead of onions, dropped in an assortment of mushrooms, and sautéed julienned red chard instead of kale. I also used a wild rice blend which added another layer of earthiness. Will definitely make this again and am excited to taste it tomorrow after the flavors meld together!
Stacy Rathbun
This was delicious! had to make some adjustments, like I HAD to use whipping cream instead of lowfat milk. What a bummer. And we use crushed croutons and more gruyere for the topping. I'm sure cream and more cheese made it even better, but this is a great recipe.
Michael M
Made this a few times now. Family really loves it. Some more notes:- Frozen kale works just fine and saves a ton of effort.- I add a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper- Actually tastes better after about an hour or so out of the oven rather than 10-15 minutes.
Arline VG
Quite a bit of time to get it to the table. I sliced up the kale before I blanched. Saved some time that way. Overall, just "ok", kind of on the bland side per my family and I agreed. I added extra chopped fennel, onion, gruyere, garlic, and even put a teaspoon of Better Than Buillion Vegetable in my rice cooker when cooking the rice. If I make again, I would add some red pepper flakes to spice it up. On the plus side, consistency was good and it was filling.
erika
This gratin was fantastic. Only adjustments I made were to add fresh nutmeg to egg base and to make the topping with a mixture of panko, zest of 1 lemon and some parm. The drizzle of oil I’ve before and after on top sealed the deal.
KateB
Cooked it all in one large stovetop-and-oven-safe skillet and it came out delicious, and with only the one pan to clean. Sautéed the onion til soft, added the rinsed and cut-up kale for a few minutes of sautee, and followed the rest of the recipe as written.
Chris
I wasn’t sure I would like the dill but it gave the recipe a zing and the herb compliments the fennel well. Instead of gratin, we get more frittata. Maybe it’s the egg to milk ratio ? Unsure, but the egg was definitely forward in this recipe. I’ll make it again with a few tweaks.
would not eat again
It was good but not healthy enough for what it was. Used almond milk, only 2 eggs and added chickpeas
Diana
Why are we blanching the kale instead of just sautéing it with the other veg?
Taylor
First time I made this, it came out a little bland and dry. Second time, I followed other commenters’ advice and added a pound package of breakfast sausage that I browned separately. I also added 3 Roma tomatoes I had left over from another recipe. Huge difference in moisture and flavor! This is going into rotation as our end of the week “leftover casserole”. Love the fennel, kale, and egg base. I might do half a pound of sausage next time, since it took over every bite.
Cat
This was so good! As other commenters have stated, the recipe is quite flexible. I thought I had two fennel bulbs in the fridge, turns out it was one bulb and a leftover fronds and stems. No low fat milk on hand but heavy cream. Otherwise as advertised and this will go on regular rotation. Love the idea of adding sausage and subbing cauliflower for rice.
Michael M
Excellent recipe. Big hit with the family. I'll definitely make it again, especially since it would be so easy to prepare if you make the filling ahead of time."1 bunch" of kale wasn't really precise but I wound up using about 10 stalks. Definitely more than I would consider 1 bunch.A 1.5 lb fennel bulb was hard to find and since I was going with smaller bulbs, I had about 2lbs untrimmed. I definitely sauteed the fennel for longer than 8 minutes. I went closer to 15 and put the cover on.
debbie
Really delicious. Used already washed baby kale, brown rice, extra Gruyère on top, no breadcrumbs to make it gluten free, substituted half and half for milk.
dsinla81
love this. made it about 7-8 times now,But I could never find short grain white rice other than Japanese sushi rice so I end up using Long grain white rice… Has anyone else found short grain white rice? I'm thinking of trying wild rice.
Chiara
Veganized this with Just Egg, vegan mozzarella and Gouda, and Not Milk. Honestly, amazing.
susan
Top with panko not bread crumbs. Recipe turns out exactly as it sounds— nothing remarkable.
Mr. McTiddles
I needed to get rid of 9 flat and tough fennel ‘bulbs’ from my CSA. This turned out great! Only change was in step 2: added 1/4 cup water and steamed the fennel for 25 mins, covered, to soften it up. Served with sriracha, it was perfect.
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