Vegetable Au Gratin/ Cheesy Vegetable Bake

Vegetable Au Gratin aka Baked vegetables with cheese, herbs and Bechamel sauce is a classic French dish popular all over the world. The word ‘Gratin’ is originated from French cuisine and means preparing a dish with cheese, breadcrumbs or butter and baking/ broiling it till you get a golden-brown upper crust. You can make Vegetable Au Gratin with your choice of vegetables (mostly crisp veggies), potatoes, Broccoli, meat and fish. Deliciously crispy on the outside and soft inside, this cheesy vegetable casserole is a true delight for the cheese lovers!

It is better to choose crisp veggies like Broccoli, Cauliflower, carrots, beans, corn, Bell Pepper etc for this Vegetable Bake. Gooey veggies like egg plants, tomatoes are best avoided. Like Creamy Pasta in white sauce, this dish is loved by kids and adults alike. With Lock down in progress, I am enjoying my experiments in kitchen, and love all the excitement and happy smiles with each new dish. The best thing is, I have frequented my bread baking. Burger buns, Garlic bread, Pizzas, stuffed Garlic Bread, sausage rolls, crescent rolls– the great feel of comfort and achievement is keeping me enthusiastic!

Continental food/ Fast food is utterly desirable and excites the new generation. Variety pizzas, Burgers, Chicken quesadilla, Fried Chicken etc are always welcome, although it is loaded with calories. Indulging occasionally is considered as a lockdown incentive at many homes. Better make it healthy with better ingredients at home. Also, try my Kids friendly recipes like Cinnamon rolls, Burger patties, Fish fingers, Meat rolls, Dynamite shrimp, Chicken Popcorn, tea cakes, Pineapple Jam roll, Doughnuts etc.

Vegetable Au Gratin is best enjoyed with crispy breads; Garlic bread toast being our favourite. Will soon post recipe for homemade Garlic Bread and cheese garlic toast. For now, let me walk you through the easy step by step recipe for Vegetable Au Gratin.

Ingredients for Vegetable Au Gratin:

Step by Step recipe for Vegetable Au Gratin:

1. For making Vegetable Au gratin, first you need to partially cook all the vegetables. Rather than losing all the vitamins by parboiling method, I prefer to stir fry the veggies.
2. Cut the Broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized florets and clean them in salted water. Drain and keep aside.
3. Peel and wash carrots and cut into small cubes.
4. Clean the Beans and cut into two-inch pieces.
5. Boil the peas and corn in little water for 5 minutes and drain.
6. In a non-stick pan, stir fry   carrots, Beans, Broccoli and cauliflower with salt and a tbsp of butter for a minute.
7. Now, cover and cook till tender.
8. Add half the pepper powder, cubed Bell Pepper and onion.
9. Continue to stir fry for two minutes.
10. Last, add the cooked peas and corn to the pan and combine everything. Keep aside.

11. In another pan melt the butter and add the plain flour.
12. Mix well and add hot milk gradually to the pan, while stirring continuously.
13. Now add a slice of cheese to the sauce and let it thicken.
14. Let the white sauce thicken slightly and add the dried Thyme or mixed Italian herbs, Cinnamon, Chili flakes and rest of pepper.
15. Adjust the salt.
16. Pour the Bechamel sauce/ White sauce over the veggies and mix well.

17. Transfer to an oven dish. Now top the dish with grated Mozzarella + Cheddar cheese.
18. Bake in a preheated oven (200⁰C) for about 20 minutes or till you get a light golden-brown crust.

Enjoy Vegetable Au Gratin with any crispy bread or toast.

Tips:

• Adjust the spices according to your taste.
• Soak the Broccoli and cauliflower florets in salted water to kill the worms if any.
• You can either stir fry the vegetables or parboil the veggies in salted water.
• Peas and corn should be cooked separately.
• Hot milk helps to make the Bechamel sauce without lumps. Pour in a steady stream while stirring.
• You can add a slice of processed cheese to the Bechamel/ White Sauce to make it creamier.
• Dried Thyme adds wonderful flavours to the dish. If you do not have thyme, try adding mixed Italian herbs.
• A mix of Mozzarella and cheddar cheese is ideal for vegetable bake. You can use Pizza cheese for a golden crust.
• Cheesy Vegetable Bake is best enjoyed with any crisp bread of your choice.

Hope you will try this amazing Baked Vegetable dish. Please let me know your feedback and suggestions if you like this recipe and share with your friends using the share buttons below. It would encourage me to share more yummy recipes. Thanks and God Bless!!