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| Brussel Sprouts, Potato and Cheddar Gratin |
I had actually planned to post a different recipe today, but then the mail arrived. Jamie Oliver Magazine’s Christmas issue arrived with a clunk and a thump through the mail slot in the door. As I turned the magazine over to pull off the plastic covering protecting it during its ride from the UK to Finland, I came face-to-face with brussel sprouts. Laid out in the shape of an evergreen tree, they looked nice and jolly, until I registered the meaning of the script printed across the top of them:
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| Trust me: treated well, brussel sprouts need no febreze™ |
Having just waxed poetically in a blog post published one day earlier about the virtues of this much maligned vegetable, I felt compelled to give it one more push out from under its undeserving reputation as the most unworthy brassica and into, perhaps, the realm of your holiday table.
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| Brussel Sprouts, Potato and Cheddar Gratin |
Yes, my friends, these are brussel sprouts dressed up for your Harvest, Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Brussel sprouts like you’ve never had them before. If you’ve been hiding sad little frozen green beans under a layer of canned fried onions smothered in canned cream of mushroom soup; please, just put that recipe aside, load up on a nice pile of brussel sprouts, a hunk of fine cheddar cheese and a few potatoes, and make this dish for your friends and family. Crisp this it up during a long bake in your oven, and settle it next to that roast chicken or turkey, crown of lamb chops, holiday ham, black bean burgers. Whatever it is you plan to serve as a main course, make sure this gratin is riding along as the supporting act. You can even make it a day or two ahead and reheat it in the oven on the day of your celebration.
You’ll thank me later when, after your first mouthful, you realize that brussel sprouts have come a long way, baby, and you were there to witness the transformation.
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| Brussel Sprouts, Potato and Cheddar Gratin |
Brussel Sprouts, Potato and Cheddar Gratin
Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Have a large, ceramic, oven-safe casserole dish ready.
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons minced, fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups / 800 ml milk (oat milk works well here, too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/4 cup / 3 dl shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb / 200g brussel sprouts, cut into thin slices
2 large potatoes, shredded (do this just before you need them so they don’t turn brown)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1. In a large frying pan, over medium-low heat, heat the oil and add the onion and rosemary. Cook until the onion is completely soft, about 20 minutes.
2. While the onion cooks, make the béchamel. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour until the flour and butter are completely combined. They will form little lumps that look like pebbles on the bottom of the pot. Add 1 cup of the milk and whisk vigorously until the flour-butter lumps disintegrate into the milk. Pour in the remainder of the milk and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Set the whisk aside, and using a flat-bottom wooden spoon, continue stirring the mixture until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and add 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. Stir well to combine the melted cheese with the milk. Set aside.
3. Once the onions have cooked, add the slices of brussel sprouts to the pan, breaking the slices up into thin shreds as you go. Cook over medium-high heat, covered, until the brussel sprouts start to soften. Turn off the heat.
4. Assembly: Pour a generous spoonful of béchamel into the bottom of your casserole dish. Spread 1/3 of the shredded potatoes over the béchamel. Top with 1/2 of the brussel sprout-onion mixture. Pour another generous scoop of béchamel evenly over the top, add 1/3 potatoes, the remaining half of the brussel sprouts and the last 1/3 of shredded potato. Pour another scoop of béchamel over the top. Finish by sprinkling the bread crumbs and the remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese evenly across the surface, and top with any remaining béchamel. Bake for 40 minutes.
Serves 6 as a side dish.