This easy, make-ahead bake works as both a comforting vegetarian main or as a side dish to meat and fish. It's also a great recipe for using up leftover cooked veg, just start the recipe from making the cheese sauce (step 5).
Prep
15 min
Cook
60 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Medium
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Ingredients
Dijon mustard 1 tsp
breadcrumbs 2 tbsp
ground nutmeg pinch
mushrooms 250 g
garlic cloves 1 (crushed)
dried thyme 1 tbsp
celery 1
green beans 300 g
plain flour 40 g
butter 20 g
bay leaf 1
red onion 1 (sliced)
parsnip 2 (sliced)
butternut squash 1 (chopped)
carrot 5 g (sliced)
leek 1 (sliced)
milk 300 ml
cream 300 ml
mature cheddar 200 g (grated)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
Roughly slice the leeks, celery and carrots. Peel and chop the butternut squash into small chunks. Chop the parsnips into small chunks. Quarter the red onions and mushrooms. Crush the garlic.
Pop the vegetables into a baking tray along with the garlic, thyme, a glug of oil, and seasoning. Toss everything together.
Roast the vegetables in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes. When they are cooked, tip them into an ovenproof casserole dish.
In the meantime make the white sauce by heating the milk and cream in a pan with a bay leaf. When it is just coming up to a simmer, remove the bay leaf and add the butter, nutmeg and Dijon mustard. Grate the cheddar.
Whisk the flour with a dash of water to make a loose paste and add to the warmed milk, whisking vigorously until it begins to thicken in the heat. This is a cheat's method but it works a treat. If you would like to make this dish even more indulgent, you could add a glug of Cognac to the white sauce.
When it has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in 3/4 of the cheese until it has melted.
Pour the sauce over the baked vegetables. Top with the breadcrumbs and remaining cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until piping hot all the way through.
Meanwhile, cook the green beans. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the green beans until tender.
Serve the gratin with the green beans on the side and enjoy.
