Vegetable Gratin. Cold-weather and winter vegetables lend themselves to comforting, bubbly baked dishes — and I don’t mean the casseroles conjured up from cream soups tossed with overcooked meats and canned vegetables. Some of my favorite winter casseroles are gratins, which are baked until the edges and top brown. (The browned part, including the bits you like to scrape off the sides of the dish, are the gratinée. Grater mean “to scrape” in French.)
This week’s gratins are made with a couple of pounds of a cooked vegetable, seasoned and bound with eggs, milk and a small amount of cheese. (In Provence, rice is also used to help bind the mixture.) Gratins are a great way to use both fresh and leftover cooked vegetables.
I also like casseroles that combine cooked grains and vegetables. I season the grains, sometimes with Middle Eastern spices like allspice and cinnamon, place them in a baking dish in an even layer, and then top them with cooked vegetables. You can top the vegetables with cheese or a béchamel, or just drizzle olive oil over them and top it all with drained yogurt mixed with pungent, puréed garlic, as they do in the Middle East.
So today I bring a simple dish but very delicious.
Vegetable Gratin
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
- 2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon Oregano Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Rosemary Leaves , finely crushed
- 1 teaspoon Thyme Leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper, Ground
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese
Direction:
- Bring water to boil in medium saucepan. Add potatoes; cook 7 minutes or just until tender. Add broccoli; cook 1 minute longer. Drain well. Set aside.
- Heat oil in large ovenproof nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until softened add mushrooms cook and stir 2 minutes . Stir in potatoes and broccoli. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Mix oregano, rosemary, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the sea salt and pepper in medium bowl. Add eggs and milk; beat with wire whisk until well blended. Pour mixture into skillet. Cook without stirring 5 minutes or until eggs are just set on bottom. Arrange tomatoes on top of egg mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining 1/4 teaspoon sea salt.
- Broil 4 to 5 minutes until eggs are set and cheese is lightly browned.
