The trick, as with all gratin’s, is to slice the vegetables really thinly. Invest in a mandolin, or use your food processor’s slicing blade, and you’ll get even slices that will cook at the same time. This dish has a lovely festive feel to it and would be great as a side dish for roast chicken (or turkey) or a rich casserole. We served just as it was with some steamed broccoli which was good too.
There was no cheese in the original recipe so feel free to leave it out. We’re still working our way through the cheese mountain in the fridge.
Creamy vegetable gratin with chestnuts and cranberries – serves 4 as a main, 6 as a side
- 400g potatoes
- 300g parsnips
- 300g celeriac
- 425ml double cream
- 140ml sour cream
- 85ml full-fat milk
- 2 cloves of garlic, very finely sliced
- leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
- butter, to grease the dish
- 50g dried cranberries
- 100g cooked chestnuts, sliced
- a large handful of grated Parmesan
- a large handful of grated Cheddar/Gruyere
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Slice the potatoes, parsnips and celeriac very finely, use a mandolin if you have one.
In a large saucepan, mix the creams and milk together, then bring to just under the boil. Add the sliced veg, garlic and thyme and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Season generously and spoon half the vegetables into a buttered gratin dish. Sprinkle the cranberries and chestnuts on top and half of the cheese, then add another layer of vegetables and the rest of the cheese over the top.
Bake for 1 hour or until completely tender. You may need to cover with foil after 45 minutes to stop it browning too much.
(Original recipe from Food from Plenty by Diana Henry, Mitchell Beazley, 2010.)
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