Vegetable Au Gratin or Baked Vegetables in white sauce is a retro favourite. This recipe used a lot of vegetables that tossed in bechamel sauce that are baked till bubbling. Topped with a cheese and panko breadcrumb crust, its best paired with toasted garlic bread or dinner rolls.
Add potatoes to 2 ½ cups of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes in a medium sized pot. To the same pot add carrots and cook for 3 more minutes. Next add cauliflower and beans and boil for another 3 minutes. Finally, add the green peas, cook for a minutes and drain all the vegetables. Set aside.
Bechamel Sauce
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the flour and whisk into the butter. Cook for 2 minutes till the flour is cooked and smells slightly nutty.
Reduce the flame and start adding milk in a steady stream while whisking continuously. Add milk in parts and keep whisking it into flour till it thickens, adding more milk as you go. This prevents the sauce from getting lumpy. Add rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until the sauce thickens enough coats the back of a spoon, about 3-4 minutes. Add cream and mix. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add the vegetables to the sauce and mix well. Pour this into 11 x 7 x 1.5 inch baking dish and use a spoon to lightly level it. Evenly sprinkle parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and panko bread crumbs on top of the vegetables.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 minutes or until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and serve hot with some bread!
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Notes
Milk: Use whole milk for best results
Chicken: Cooked shredded chicken can be added along with the veggies to the sauce if you want to make a Chicken Bake or Chicken Au Gratin
Other vegetables: Other vegetables like broccoli, mushroom and zucchini can also be added to this au gratin. For broccoli, boil it with the peas. For mushrooms and zucchini, saute them in a little butter till cooked and then add them to the sauce.
Sauce: The sauce may seem a bit thin, but just follow the ingredients exactly, and once its baked, it'll have the perfect consistency
Cheese: Add cheese in the order listed above to prevent the parmesan from cooking too fast