Easy Au Gratin Potatoes with Fennel and California Ripe Olives

This Au Gratin Potato Recipe is creamy, cheesy and full of flavor thanks to some sliced fennel and sliced black olives. They will be the perfect side dish at your Thanksgiving or holiday table this year and go great served alongside turkey or ham!  

This post is sponsored by California Ripe Olives and is part 3 of 3 recipes I’ll be sharing in partnership with them in 2019. –all thoughts and opinions are my own!

I know it's only September, but I'm getting excited for all things fall, and that means that I'm also already planning my Thanksgiving menu! #sorrynotsorry

Creamy Au Gratin potatoes adorn our Thanksgiving table almost every year. Sometimes it's my sweet potato au gratin, and sometimes it's funeral potatoes, but no matter what, we some form of cheesy, creamy potatoes on the table. So, when California Ripe Olives asked me to come up with a Thanksgiving recipe including olives, I knew it had to be a variation of Potatoes Au Gratin!

Why This Recipe Works

For this recipe, I use russet potatoes and combine them with sliced fennel and onion. The fennel adds a mild and bright, spring-like flavor to the dish that sets it apart from other au gratin potato recipes. For the cheese, I use a combination of nutty Gruyere and mild and creamy Jarlsberg. While both are from the swiss cheese family, they balance one another out and pack an incredible punch of flavor and creaminess.                                                       

The heavy cream will act as the sauce and cooking liquid, keeping the potatoes, onion, and fennel moist while cooking and will thicken up into a rich sauce as it bakes and cools. It may look fancy, but this recipe is easy and takes very little prep, aside from the slicing.

For as long as I can remember into my childhood, Thanksgiving (and Christmas) dinner at my grandparent's house meant two things-- bowls of sweet baby gherkin pickles and black olives. I loved sneaking into the kitchen while the adults cooked, to stealthily pick olive after olive off the vegetable platter. I would stick them on the tips of each of my fingers and run away to the front room where I could enjoy my olives in solitude.

I've matured quite a bit in the ways that I enjoy California Ripe Olives now, but I would be lying if I pretended like I still don't indulge in an occasional "olive finger" reenactment now and again. I love the fact that olives are so versatile and can be added to so many recipes to add flavor and texture. They can be dressed up, like in this Potato Au Gratin Recipe, or totally dressed down and be nothing but a bowl of olives that little ones can nibble from off their fingers. Either way, olives are amazing and always stocked in my pantry.

How To Make Easy Potato Au Gratin with California Ripe Olives

1. Prep your potatoes, onions, and fennel. I used this Mandoline slicer to slice my veggies and love how quick and easy it makes it. If you don't have a mandoline and/or don't want to purchase one quite as big as the one I have, I also have this handheld slicer and use it almost daily. The thicker you slice the veggies, the longer they will take to cook. I typically like to slice mine just under ⅛ of an inch.
2. Sauté the onion and fennel over medium-low heat in some olive oil until tender and starting to caramelize. This will take about 15 minutes.
3. Mix the sliced potatoes and olives with the heavy whipping cream, salt, pepper, and all but a few tablespoons of the cheese. Add the sautéed fennel and onion and mix to combine.
4. Pour potato mixture into an 8x8 baking dish or deep pie plate. Flatten the surface, making sure all the potatoes are submerged in the cream.
5. Combine remaining cheese with a couple of tablespoons whipping cream and sprinkle over the top of the potatoes.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender and the top is golden brown.

Do These Things For The Perfect Au Gratin Potatoes:

• Use a Mandoline Or Handheld Slicer This will ensure that your vegetables are sliced uniformly and will cook evenly. It also makes the dish look polished and well put together. 🙂
• Use HEAVY Whipping Cream At the grocery store, look for the carton labeled HEAVY whipping cream or heavy cream. These two are the same product and contain 36% milkfat, which means it's the richest and creamiest. You may see "whipping cream" or even "light whipping cream" but these two products will give you different results in your recipe as the milk fat content is typically 10-20% lower than the "heavy" variety.
• Pick the Right Cheese Virtually any kind of cheese can be used in this recipe-- so use what you have on hand or your favorite. I love the combination of Gruyere and Jarlsberg, though! It's mild, nutty, and creamy and pairs excellently with meats like turkey and ham without tasting too cheesy. 
• Check For Tenderness The Au Gratin is done when a fork or sharp knife glides smoothly through the potatoes in the center. If there is any resistance, continue cooking. If needed, you can tent the top with a piece of tin foil to prevent the top from getting too brown.
• Choose California Ripe Olives These olives undergo a seven-day storage and curing process, proprietary to California Ripe Olives, resulting in a consistent taste in every olive. At the grocery store, check the label and as long as it says they are from California, you're getting the best olives!
  

What does Au Gratin Mean?

An au gratin is something sprinkled with breadcrumbs and/or cheese and then browned.

Au Gratin Potatoes vs. Scalloped Potatoes-- what's the difference?

Scalloped potatoes are cooked in a creamy sauce, traditionally without cheese. Since Au Gratin Potatoes ARE sprinkled with cheese, the difference is basically the use of cheese. However, over the years, the two terms have become somewhat interchangeable.

What Goes Good With Au Gratin Potatoes?

Au Gratin Potatoes are mild and creamy and go good with just about anything. Some of my favorites are Brined Turkey Breast, Classic Meatloaf, Slow Cooker Roasted Pork, Baked BBQ Chicken, or Grilled Chicken

More Potato Recipes You Might Like

• Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Steakhouse Potatoes
• Grilled Sweet Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
• Oven Roasted Potatoes

Other Recipes For Your Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

• Sweet Potato Casserole With Coconut
• Corn Spoon Bread
• Best Dinner Roll Recipe
• Fresh Green Bean Casserole
• Homemade Creamed Corn
• Cranberry Fluff
• Pumpkin Turnovers
• Never Fail Pie Crust
• Caramel Apple Pie with Crumb Topping