Some interesting suggestions so far. I’ll admit I wasn’t thinking of red wines at all, mostly because I didn’t think the tannins in red wines would pair well with the vegetables and flavors. But perhaps I should go out on a red limb…
Bruce
I am with you on the white Bruce.
My picks:
Savennieres or Cassis Blanc FR
Fiano or Pigato IT
A group of us did a pair of '66 Bordeaux (Gruaud Larose and Beycheville) with a cauliflower gratin last night (with gruyere) and it seemed to work just fine; of course the NY strip served at the same time probably helped the pairing quite a bit. Both wines showed really, really well.
So just to followup, I paired the gratin with a Burgans Albarino. The slightly savory quality of the Albarino seemed to work very well with the fennel and cauliflower.
Bruce
I don’t know what I’d pair with it, but I’d love to have the recipe.
+1
I’d maybe go Savennieres with some age, or Roussanne/Marsanne, or Chenin Blanc, or white Rioja, or … you get the picture.
You can google “cauliflower fennel gratin” and you’ll see a variety of recipes. I started out with the basic recipe–sautee the florets of one head of cauliflower and then the sliced fennel, after sauteeing add salt, flour, and nutmeg off the heat. You then put the mixture into a dish and pour some heavy cream over it. Then sprinkle with a combo of bread crumbs, grated gruyere, and grated parmesan. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes uncovered until crusty brown on top.
Bruce
Nice. Kinda how I figured it would work. A gratin is a gratin is a gratin but it’s nice to have details. How much fennel did you use? We have one farmer who sells fennel heads the size of a small chicken for $3.00.
Generally, one large fennel bulb for a cauliflower head.
Bruce