The Suburban Herbivore

White Bean and Root Vegetable Gratin

I know this is going to make it sound like I never cook, but I prepared a very tasty gratin way back on May 17. Yes, this is another catch-up post. (As opposed to a ketchup post.) (Sorry… I think I’m hilarious, but my husband tells me that I’m really not.) Based off a method in Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, the gratin turned out wonderfully, and is a great way to utilize those random root vegetables you may have lying around. It calls for Parmesan cheese on top, but is vegan without that.

Sauteed Greens

I also sauteed the radish, kohlrabi, and turnip greens and swiss chard that I’d been accumulating. This was a wonderful accompaniment to the gratin. The photo makes it look like I’m stir-frying a salad, though.

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1.5 lbs root vegetables (I used turnips and kohlrabi)
1 onion
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped finely (depending on how much you like)
3 cans white beans
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp rosemary
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel and chop the root vegetables and onion. Heat most of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the vegetables until they begin getting soft. During this time, you can drain and rinse the beans, but reserve about half a cup of bean liquid. Also prepare a shallow casserole pan by rubbing it with a towel (paper or otherwise) dipped in olive oil.

White Bean and Root Vegetable Gratin, plus sauteed greens and bread.

Add a little salt and pepper, plus the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is soft. Turn down the heat if necessary to keep the vegetables from browning too much. Once done, remove from heat and add the rosemary and the beans. You can add some or all of the reserved bean liquid at this point if the vegetables are too dry. It should be stew-like. Add more salt and/or pepper if needed.

Pour the mixture into the casserole pan, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for at least 40 minutes, and then until the edges and top are browned and the sauce is bubbling.

Tags: greens, kohlrabi, swiss chard, turnips, vegetarian cooking

This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 am and is filed under Cooking, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.