Root Vegetable Au Gratin

By Addie

Recipe copyright Sandra Lee, 2011
Show: Sandra's Money Saving Meals
Episode: Family Feast

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup grated Cheddar
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 large carrots, peeled, sliced on the bias 1/4-inch thick
• 5 parsnips, peeled, sliced on the bias 1/4-inch thick
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a small pot, heat the milk with the thyme over medium-low heat until hot.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the canola oil. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the flour and cook stirring constantly until the flour is lightly golden brown, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the hot milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until very thick. Stir in the Cheddar, pumpkin pie spice and salt and pepper to taste.

Coat the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a thin layer of the sauce. Place one layer of carrots slightly overlapping in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with an overlapping layer of the parsnips. Pour a third of the sauce over top. Repeat with two more layers each of the carrots and parsnips, ending with the sauce.

In a small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Evenly sprinkle over the top of the gratin.

Bake until the gratin is bubbling and the topping is browned, and when pierced through the vegetables yield easily, about 1 1/2 hours. If the top begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil. Let rest for 10 minute before serving.
.....................

REVIEWS:

This recipe was so tasty and hearty. I cut the recipe in half, but I felt like that didn't really give me enough sauce. I think if I dide that again, I would go ahead and make the full recipe sauce and just use what I need and toss the rest if it's too much. I couldn't find parsnips so I used a rutabega, which was actually pretty good. I thought all the flavors meshed well and I will definitely be making this recipe again.

This was really great! While I love parsnips, my husband and son aren't so impressed so I confess to using white potatoes in place of parsnips. Also, I used just 2 cups of 2% milk and about 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg instead of pumpkin pie spice (which I don't keep on hand. These substitutions all worked well and nicely complemented the pan-fried ham steaks we had alongside. I'll likely prepare this again. It'd be great on a Fall or winter holiday table.

I typically do not like Sandra Lee's recipes because there are too many short cuts and processed foods. BUT, this particular one was a "from scratch" recipe. I made this and it was wonderful. My husband, who claims to hate parsnips, ate almost the entire casserole by himself. I used fat free half and half as I didn't have any milk, and it came out great. Would be great for Thanksgiving. I did not use the pumpkin pie spice, since it's not a flavor I like.