Another day, another gratin… this one was loaded with root vegetables and turned out very tasty, indeed!
This recipe was basically three pounds of sliced root vegetables, tossed in a rich and tasty bechamel sauce, with a layer of melted Gruyere on top. It would be hard to go wrong with that combination! I’m recommending this recipe (although it took about 2 hours to bake) because it was hearty enough to serve as a main dish, relatively easy to prep for, and just really good.
The most difficult part of the prep was probably the slicing of the vegetables. It called for a pound each of potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, and recommended using a mandoline or food processor for even slices (I used the blade side of a box cheese grater). If you have access to any of these implements, you won’t need to spend much time slicing. (It’s important that the slices are even, or you will end up with some pieces that are too hard and some that turn to mush.)
The sauce was also quick to put together, and there was no tiling necessary when assembling the sliced vegetables in the dish. Again, very easy.
The one possible issue I had with the dish is that it is almost a little too sweet. I assume this is because of the carrots and parsnips, and maybe the nutmeg too. If I made this recipe again, I would use 2 pounds of potatoes and a half pound each of carrots and parsnips, instead of 1 pound of each, but this is just due to my personal preference of savory over sweet. The Gruyere did a good job of balancing out the sweetness, too.
The bottom line:
This gratin was loaded with vegetables, hearty, and very tasty. I would make it again. My husband LOVED it.
Difficulty: Easy and simple prep, especially if you have a mandoline or some kind of slicer. 1 chef knife out of 5. 🔪
Kid-friendliness: This might be the biggest weakness of the recipe. One of my kids was willing to eat a few bites, but none of them was super into it. Gruyere is a pretty strongly flavored cheese. My kids might have been more willing to dig in if I hadn’t been offering leftover spaghetti as another option. 2 yummy faces out of 5. 😋😋
Time: prep time was very fast (maybe 20 minutes) including making the sauce, but baking time was 2 hours. 4 snails out of 5. 🐌🐌🐌🐌
Mess: not a big mess! A few prep bowls, cheese grater, one small saucepan and a baking dish. 2 dirty dishes out of 5. 🥣🥣
Overall: 👍🏽
I was unable to find the recipe online, so below is a link to buy the cookbook 😉:
700 Vegetarian Recipes 