Creamy Vegetable Gratin

By Booper-2

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter, divided (plus more for buttering the baking dish)
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
• 10 large leaves of kale (curly or black), chopped small
• salt and white pepper
• 2 cups 35% cream
• 1/2 onion, make sure the root is still intact
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 3 sprigs thyme, divided
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled & thinly sliced
• 2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced
• 1 cup shredded Canadian Gruyère
• 1/2 cup shredded Canadian Parmesan
• 1 medium yellow zucchini (summer squash), thinly sliced lengthwise
• 3 medium carrots, peeled & thinly sliced lengthwise
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs.

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from dairygoodness.ca

Preparation

Step 1

Heat a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add 1 tbsp butter. When butter is melted and begins to foam, add the shallot and sweat. Add 1 minced garlic clove and cook until fragrant (about 20-30 seconds). Add the kale and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook kale until wilted, tossing occasionally. Season with salt and white pepper and set aside. While the kale is cooking, prepare the cream. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and set to medium heat. Cut a slit into the ½ piece of onion and stick in a bay leaf. Poke the cloves into the onion and submerge in the cream along with 1 sprig of thyme. Right when steam begins to come off of the cream, remove from heat, remove onion with spices and herbs and set aside. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Butter an 11 x 7–inch glass baking dish and add a spoonful of the flavoured cream mixture. Add 1 layer of sweet and Yukon gold potatoes, making sure to slightly overlap the slices. Season lightly with salt and white pepper, and drizzle in some of the cream. Top with a light layer of Gruyère and Parmesan. Repeat process of layering in different slices of vegetables (a different vegetable on each layer), seasoning, and adding cream and cheese until vegetables reach the middle of the baking dish. Add the kale mixture to make the middle layer of the casserole, and repeat the vegetable and cream layering and seasoning process on top until vegetables reach the top of the baking dish. Melt the remaining butter in a small bowl. Add in the remaining minced clove of garlic, the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs, and panko breadcrumbs. Toss to coat. Sprinkle on top of the layered vegetables along with any remaining cheese. Bake for about 60 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Serve immediately. Tip: Slice carrots and potatoes in advance to cut down on prep time!