While traveling through France, I stayed in a tiny village called Puycelsi. I popped into 1 of the 2 restaurants in the village for lunch. I was feeling vegetarian that day and so I ordered the Gratin aux Legumes (Gratin with Vegetables). It was so delicious and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. 2 years later, I’ve finally set out to recreate that delicious dish. It was served in an individual cast iron dish at the restaurant, but I’ve made it more of a family style version, in which you scoop out servings. To me, this dish is comfort food at it’s best.
Legume Gratin
A cheesy, warm vegetarian comfort food.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Salted Butter
- 4 Leeks, choped
- 1 Yellow Squash, sliced thin
- 1 Zucchini, sliced thin
- 1 Eggplant, chopped into strips
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Creme Fraiche
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.
Start by melting butter in the bottom of a large dutch oven or saucepan on medium high heat.
Add chopped leeks and stir with a wooden spoon until leeks have cooked down and some are brown (about 5 minutes.)
Add the Zucchini and the Yellow Squash and continue stirring and letting the squash cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the Eggplant and stir for another 5 minutes.
Add 1 tsp Salt and 1 tsp Pepper to vegetables and stir together.
Cover the pot with lid and turn heat off.
In a separate bowl, mix together the Milk, Creme Fraiche, Egg, Fresh Thyme and 1 tsp of Salt and Pepper.
In a buttered, oven safe casserole dish, layer the bottom with half of the sautéed vegetables.
Next, sprinkle half of the shredded Gruyere cheese on top.
Then add the last half of the sautéed vegetables on top of the cheese layer.
Now pour the Milk mixture over the top of all the vegetables.
Top the dish with the last of the Gruyere cheese.
Place dish in the oven and bake for 40 Minutes until the top is brown and bubbly.
Serve warm.
Chopped leaks:
Sauteed Vegetables are ready to go: