Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Serves: 6-8
Recipe: The Roasted Root
Cheesy, comforting, delicious parsnip gratin makes for a great side dish to share with others. Parsnip gratin is a confident, sophisticated (YET EASY) dish with warm, earthy, herby flavor. Parsnips have a naturally nutty, somewhat cinnamon flavor, which is not for everyone as it is certainly different from the neutral potato.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups cauliflower chopped and steamed
- 2-1/2 pounds parsnips peeled and very thinly sliced (1/8” thin or thinner)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cups 2% milk or whole milk
- 2 tablespoons brown rice flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 large eggs
- 7 ounces aged white cheddar shredded, or gruyere or other good quality cheese
- ½ tablespoon butter for greasing a casserole dish
Directions:
- Steam half a head of cauliflower until soft when poked with a fork (about 5 to 8 minutes). Drain the cauliflower and set aside to cool.
- Peel the parsnips and slice them thinly using a mandoline slicer or simply slice them very thinly (and carefully)with a sharp knife.
- Over medium heat, sauté the sliced onion in a couple teaspoons of oil until fragrant and beginning to turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Once the cauliflower is cool, combine the steamed cauliflower, milk, flour, salt, nutmeg and thyme in a blender. Blend until combined
- Crack the egg into the cauliflower/milk mixture and blend just enough to combine (this should make just over 3 cups worth of mixture).
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a well buttered 9” x 13” casserole dish, lay down slices of parsnip, completely covering the bottom (it’s okay to overlap slices). Layer a third of the sauteed onion on top, sprinkle with cheese, and spread 1/3 of the cauliflower mixture over the layer. Repeat this process with the remaining parsnips, onion, cheese, and sauce, with a sauce and cheese layer on top.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the casserole dish from the oven, discard the foil.
- Put the casserole dish back in the oven (uncovered) and bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the dish to sit 10 minutes so before you serve.