Vegetable Au Gratin

This is an exceedingly delicious Veg casserole.

I had a couple of Europeans come over for dinner, who found it quite surprising that a dinner main course could be put together with no meat(n etc.) or egg in it. I am sure they had some kind of a backup plan when we announced that the dinner is going to be vegetarian, but this Au Gratin totally drove their skepticism away... So this is one of the perfect dishes to impress all your guests with something that is non-Indian and still not a Pasta or a Pizza...

And for your little ones (mine are 2+) disguise the Veggies in white sauce (bechamel sauce) and cheese and see the appeal of the dish go up several notches.

WARNING : If you are dieting, then to avoid temptation, you might have to stop reading any further :P

Au Gratin is basically a dish that has Potatoes or Vegetables or ham or some similar ingredient , coated with white sauce (bechamel sauce) and baked in an oven with a topping of sesoned bread crumbs and cheese.

Here is my version of Vegetable Au Gratin :

Preparation Time : 30-40 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 min.

Serving Size : Makes an 8 inch casserole. (serves 2-3 ppl)

Ingredients :

For the Sauce -

1. All purpose Flour - 2 Tbsp.

2. Butter - 2 Tbsp.

3. Whole Milk or 2% Milk - 1 n 1/2 Cups.

4. Salt - to Taste

5. Nutmeg Powder - 2 tsp.

6. Italian Seasoning - 2 tsp.

7. Crushed Red Peppers - 2 tsp.

8. Cream - 2 Tbsp. (Optional)

9. Garlic - 1 Tbsp. Crushed.

Vegetables :

1. Cauliflower Florets - 1 Cup

2. Brocolli florets - 1 Cup

3. Onion - 1 medium sized.

4. Mushrooms - 1 Cup cleaned and sliced.

5. Potatoes - 1 Medium sized

6. Carrots - 2 Medium.

7. Green Beans - 10-12

For the Crust :

1. Bread Crumbs - 1/2 Cup (you could go for your favorite seasoning)

2. Cheese - Mozzarella or Parmesan - 1/2 Cup

3. Olive oil - 2 Tbsp.

Method :

1. Set the oven to 400 deg F and let it pre-heat.

2. Blanch the Cauliflower and Brocolli - wash them thoroughly. Heat water in a vessel and add a pinch of salt and turmeric to it. When it starts to boil, turn off the stove and add the Cauliflower and Brocolli florets.After 5 minutes, drain them off all the water and keep them aside.

3. Heat a skillet on the stove, add the Olive Oil. Once the oil heats up add the Julienned onions and fry till it starts turning brown. Add the Mushrooms to this.Fry the onions and the mushroom until they are cooked. Drain out any excess water once they are cooked.

4. Julienne the Carrots, potatoes and Beans , add them to a Microwave safe bowl , cover it and Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

For the Sauce :

1. Heat butter in a skillet and wait till it melts.

2. Add garlic to this and fry till it is cooked.

3. Add flour to this butter and fry it till the flour comes to a sandy texture.

4. To this add the milk slowly. Stir it constantly as you pour the milk to ensure that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring till the mixture thickens and coats the ladle. Wooden ladle is the best for this process.

5. Add the salt, the nutmeg powder, the Italian seasoning (this can be omitted) and Crushed peppers to this sauce.

6. To make the sauce richer, add the cream to it, stir it for two minutes and turn off the stove, but this is optional too.

7. Add all the veggies to the sauce and ensure that all the vegetables have an even coating of the sauce.

Now to assemble All the Items :

Take a shallow baking pan , I used an 8 inch baking pan. Grease it with oil or non-sticking spray. Transfer the vegetables coated with the sauce on this.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of this to form an almost uniform layer.

Add the Cheese on top of this to make another layer and bake it for 20-25 minutes or

till all the cheese melts and it has a nice brown colour on top.

There might be quite a few steps to make this , but its a very rich dish and is totally worth all your effort...