Vegetable Au Gratin
Au Gratin is a French Style of cooking where casseroles are topped with bread crumbs & butter, & are allowed to brown under a broiler to give a crunch. Sometimes cheese is sprinkled which melts & gets crispy under the broiler, but is not a requirement. “The etymology of gratin is from the French language in which the word “gratter” meaning to “to scrape” as of the “scrapings” of bread or cheese, and gratiné, from the transitive verb form of the word for crust” (WIKI). Au Gratins are baked/broiled in the oven & then served in a (usually Oval) baking dish. I did not use an Au Gratin dish as you can see… my dish is as square as it can be. So I really do not know if it would have tasted any different in an Oval Au Gratin dish.
In this recipe I have baked the Vegetables in a creamy Béchamel or White Sauce, topped with a layer of mashed potatoes, breadcrumbs & cheese. Béchamel, is used in a variety of dishes and is the base for many sauces. It is made by adding milk to Roux (a mixture of flour & butter). This Au Gratin has become a family favorite (initially introduced by my husband )- even my little one who is an extremely picky eater, eats this with a lot of enthusiam.
There are a different ways you could make an Au Gratin, with different vegetables, meat & seafood. Here I am presenting the way we made it for lunch today. Do try out different vegetable combinations & sauce bases.
Here is a Veg. Au Gratin, our Family Style…
Ingredients: (Serves about 4 )
- 4 Cups of vegetables Chopped into small pieces (Example: Peas, Carrots, Green Beans, Corn, Cauliflower, Bell Peppers/Capsicums)
- 1/2 Medium sized Onion Chopped into small pieces
- 3 Large Potatoes Peeled & Boiled.
- 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 Cup Grated Cheese (we used Pepper Jack)
- 2 Tablepoons Butter
- Salt
- 1 Tomato Chopped (Optional)
Note: Some other wonderful vegetables to add are Artichokes, Asparagus, Fennel & Leek. Please use any combination of vegetables you want. I wrote down only what we used this time.
Small cooked pastas may also be added to the vegetables in the sauce…. & baked using the same procedure as below.
For the Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp. Butter
- 4-5 Tbsp. Flour
- 1- 1.5 Cups Milk
- Salt
- Freshly Ground White/Black Pepper
Preparation:
To prepare the veggies:
Boil/Steam all the vegetables till tender. There should be no runny water. Set aside.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon of butter, & add the chopped onions & saute till soft & transluscent. Stir in the Vegetables & add salt, toss to combine & switch off the heat.
Mash the boiled potatotes with Salt & Pepper & set aside.
To Prepare the Sauce:
In heavy pan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour with a wire whisk. Cook over low heat for three to five minutes, stirring constantly. Do not let it brown. This mixture is called a roux. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly. Cook over low heat for 3-5 more minutes until sauce begins to thicken. Season with salt & pepper .
To Assemble & Bake/Broil:
Add the White Sauce & the prepared Vegetables & stir them to thoroughly combine. Do not mash them.
Lightly grease the bottom of a casserole or a baking dish.
Place the vegetables with the sauce on the greased dish.
Place the mashed potatoes in an even layer over the vegetables.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on the mashed potatoes. Add the rest of the butter in dots over the bread crumb.
Sprinkle the grated cheese in an even layer over the crumbs.
Add the chopped tomatoes on the cheese (this is an optional step- I add these to add some color to the dish & we also like the taste & tang of the slightly grilled tomatoes).
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the dish in the oven & bake for about 20 – 25 minutes. you will see the little bubbles of the sauce from the side.The sauce & the vegetables kind of sets as the water dries up. The cheese will melt and start browing along with the crumbs.
Set the oven to broil. Broil for a couple of minutes. Let the top brown ( if you have noticed, we did not let ours get dark. The cheese was crisp & we did not want it browned futher).
Please feel free to bake & broil it to your taste… but do not let it burn. It soons turns from light brown to black at the Broil mode.
Serve with rolls or garlic bread. Top it off a fresh grind of black pepper if you want. Enjoy!
We all loved it. I had doubts about my little one.. but surprisingly she was the one who enjoyed it most. The dish was all wiped clean:-)
Sending these to DK of Culinary Bazaar for her event A.W.E.D.-French Cuisine this month.
Tags: au gratin, augratin, baked dish, bechamel, bread crumbs, carrots, cheese, cheese recipe, eggless, flour, French, french cuisine, gratin, grilled cheese, how to make white sauce, layers, Milk, Peas, potato, roux, Sauce, vegetable & cheese, vegetable & white sauce, vegetable augratin, vegetarian, veggie gratin, what is bechamel, what is roux, white sauce
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Love Gratin of all kind..its so flavorful..Yous look so perfect Soma.I feel like scopping a spoon outa it..:)
Thanks Varsha!
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I adore Gratin, veggie or meat based, I enjoy it all but what I noticed was the dish you are using, is that corning ware< it reminds me of when I was a child and my mum would use it?
That dish is my mom’s !! Few of which I inherited & saved!!
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Au Gratin ! Sounds fabulous ! As usual, a wonderful recipie !!
Thank u thank you:-)
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I usually only make potatoes au gratin. What a great idea to use other veggies with this preparation. Sounds so yummy!
& I have never made only potatoes!! should try that soemtimes..
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:06 pm
wow…thats superb…i have been wanting to get the recipe of gratin for so long..shall try urs for sure…
Thanks Divz!
February 24th, 2009 at 12:07 am
I like your fork and spoon! Nice setting, Soma – you are getting lovely pictures in all your posts. I love au gratins too, and I do miss the cheese! I think I will make an au gratin too for AWED, and I promise I will say I took the idea from yours as I really cannot think of any French dish at the moment!
Thanks Harini!! “Au Gratin”, “bon jour” & “French” is all I can say in “French”
How sad is that.
Will wait to see your Au Gratin!
as for the pictures, got me some colored tissues.. can u see?
February 24th, 2009 at 12:14 am
your veg au gratin looks great and i feel like tasting it… must be good with the cheese on top.
Thanks Mahimaa.. Come over, I’ll make some for u:-)
February 24th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Very bright and yum presentation.
Thanks Lubna!
February 24th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Iam a big fan of augratin your s looks so yummy nice recipe
Thank you rekha!
February 24th, 2009 at 1:56 am
hi soma, looks great.hope it tasted good…neat presentation..Do visit my blog at ur free time..:)Thankx in advance..
Thanks Chitra.. It did taste good:-)
February 24th, 2009 at 2:39 am
After trying Au Gratin a couple of times … both times at 5 stars … I gave up trying it. I always found them watery with some half dead veggies lying about …. and half heartedly made. Yours looks so delicious and perfect Soma.
And warm snaps I must say.
Sharmila.. try to steam the veggies instead of boiling in water… also the sauce cannot be runny.. & the rest of the water needs to dry off during baking..
February 24th, 2009 at 2:53 am
This looks mucho delicious and you’ve triggered fond food memories.My mom had a Corelle casserole like this!
Now with all that talk about that Corelle Dish.. I had been using this for SO long now that i forgot really for how many years it has been with me!
February 24th, 2009 at 3:21 am
thnks for the detailed recipe,..will try this soon,..
Thanks Priyanka!
February 24th, 2009 at 5:37 am
I made a similar Gratin too in oval if I might add! ;D
Tastes and looks so good there, regardless of how you bake it, oval or square dish!
)
Thanks for letting me know that they taste the same in the square & the oval:-)
February 24th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Beautiful framing of the photos Soma! Love the background color you choose, the photos in each post are getting higher on the gorgeous scale
)
I like how you saved the tomatoes for the last, will surely give this a try, perfect for the fridge clean up day too I guess
Thanks! U among the few others are my inspiration for photographs!
Priya I got myself some colored papers:-) & I love that green, makes me think spring & summer:-). I do not like the bland color of the grilled cheese, so i put the tomato for myself.. .lol I am sure the real gratins do nothing like that.. but its all about what you want to eat right?
February 24th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Hi Soma!
Love Gratin dishes, here are very common because we’ve a great influence of French cuisine.
Your veggies looks fabulous definitely to enjoy with garlic bread
Cheers,
Gera
Thanks Gera!! I do not have much idea about French Cuisine…. need to explore more.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:56 am
I make gratin often..Yours look perfect and the presentation is awesome dear.
Thanks Ann!
February 24th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Gorgeous photos. The dish looks lovely and I am sure tastes even better.
Thank you!
February 24th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Love Gatin..It is so flavourful and yumm..Looks lovely..Want a spoon full of that now…:-)
Thanks Ashwini!
February 24th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Wonderful presentation and stunning pictures. I love this vegetable au gratin..It looks delicious
Thank you Madhumathi!
February 24th, 2009 at 9:07 am
You have presented it so well ! Looks very tasty.
Thanks Maya
February 24th, 2009 at 9:37 am
The bowl doesn’t matter, I have eaten in France gratin regardless of shape of the bowl! This one is simply gorgeous!
Thanks Cham!! I would be really upset if the Gratins in oval bowl tasted better:-)
February 24th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I love such casseroles,looks creamy and delicious with potatoes:)
We loved it too:-)
February 24th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove au gratin! Yours looks pretty with the tomatoes on top.
Thanks a lot!! Those tomatoes are meant to look pretty.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I love baking so I should so try this!
I am not much in to baking… this takes only “little effort” baking:-)
February 24th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Superbly presented awesome dish…but My My…the dishes u make are getting more and more tougher for me to remember(the names i mean…..lolz)
from the ingredients and procedure,it do sound some rich,flavorful stuff ,so i am sure u guys had a nice time enjoying it
He he Alka.. What is in a name? As long as it tastes good:-).. its a good way to eat some veggies. LOL
February 24th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Oh my, look absolutely gorgeous and I am sure it was delicious as well.
Cheers,
Elra
Thanks Elra!
February 24th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Looks awesome! Colourful and yummy!
February 24th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
That’s a very descriptive and informative post Soma. I’ve not baked au-gratins before. It looks very appetizing.
Thanks Madhuram!
February 24th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Great presentation Soma and the pictures look beautiful. We have a pepper mill very similar to yours (different shade of color). The Vegetable Au Gratin looks awesome.
Thanks Supriya! That pepper mill had been my friend for many years now:-) & yes I see it everywhere.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
To be frank, I never eaten au gratin before
Nice tempting pictures. Looks so mouth-watering.
LOL, Uma.. this is something I learnt from my husband, after i got married. Thank you.
February 25th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Looks so mouth watering! Love the tomatoes on top, gives it a nice colour.
Thanks !
February 25th, 2009 at 7:39 am
I really like the lighting in this photograph.
Thanks Cynthia! I got lucky with a bright sunny day!
February 25th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Looks lovely and that green is so pretty
Thanks Sandeepa. Of all the tissues I got, this is my favorite!
February 25th, 2009 at 8:51 am
I love gratin, gorgeous n delicious gratin…one of the healthy way of having veggies na!!!Lovely click dear!!
Thank you dear Priya:-)
February 26th, 2009 at 2:32 am
I am a big Gratin fan……..the pic is adorable and I am sure it must have tasted good as well
February 26th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I would love to try this, looks gorgeous and inviting ! Great pictures as usual !
February 28th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
For someone who self confesses to know only “French” and “Bonjour” in french, you sure seem to have cooked up a french storm. Looks amazing and appetizing. Thanks for sending this my way for AWED France
February 28th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
That gratin looks really good!
March 1st, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Soma,
Thank you..Khub bhalo hoye chilo and kids loved it, too…….