Scalloped Potatoes and Fennel

Southerners lay claim to scalloped potatoes as if the French gratin dauphinois never existed, but it’s only recently that we’ve embraced fresh fennel as a wonderful vegetable to braise, stuff into baked fish, eat raw in salads and with dips, or use to enhance our beloved scalloped potatoes. (Of course, if, like many Southerners, you have a natural prejudice against licorice, you probably won’t like fennel, although its flavor is very light and delicate when the bulb is cooked.) Fresh