gratin | Delightful-Delicious-Delovely

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

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I get Farm Fresh To You deliveries every other week. You are allowed to customize the deliveries but, sometimes, I forget and the result is that I end up with an infinity of leafy greens. This week: two kinds of lettuce, Swiss chard & kale. And fennel. And more. But thatsalotta greens! Plus, I already had fennel from the last delivery & about 5 pounds of spinach. So – I decided to make something that would use as many of the greens as possible – this dish. The greens you use can vary but you need a lot of whatever you select because they reduce dramatically.

I used real Parmesan in this (because I had it) but vegan Parm – or even another vegan cheese (like mozzarella or cheddar) would work. I used almond milk but I think a thicker milk might have been better.

NOTE – Also – you might want to add some cheese to the veggie mix. I didn’t because I was trying to keep this dish on the light side.

Fennel, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Kale & White Bean Gratin (Vegan or Not)

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

5 TBS vegan butter

2 small bulbs fennel – chopped

1 onion (I used 1 brown & 1/2 red onion) – diced

4 or more garlic cloves (I used 4 cloves & 2 stalks of green garlic) – chopped

1 bunch Swiss chard – ribs removed & chopped

1 bunch kale – ribs removed & chopped

2-4 cups spinach

2 TBS fresh thyme

3 TBS flour

1 cup Parmesan (vegan or otherwise) – optional – for adding to the veggies – see NOTE above

1 1/2 cup vegan milk (I used almond milk but a thicker milk might be better – or half & half, if you are not vegan)

2 14 oz cans white beans – drained & rinsed

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used Panko)

1 cup Parmesan (vegan or otherwise) – or other cheese (mozzarella or cheddar) for topping

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt TWO of the five TBS of butter in a large stock pot. Add the fennel and onion & saute until soft. Add thyme & combine. Add the garlic & stir for a minute. Add the greens – in stages – adding more as each bit wilts.

Add the flour & milk & bring to a boil. Reduce to low & simmer as it thickens a bit. Add the beans & season with S&P. If you are adding cheese to the veggies – do that now & stir to combine.

Meanwhile – melt the remaining 3 TBS butter & toss with the breadcrumbs and 1 cup of cheese.

Treat a 9 x 13 casserole pan with cooking spray or oil & put the veggie mix in. Top with the breadcrumb mix. Bake for about 30 minutes or until breadcrumbs turn golden.

Let rest 10 minutes & serve.

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

Follow @celisemccarthy

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

My intention was to make this entirely vegan – and I almost finished it vegan – but it came out of the oven looking very sad – because the vegan cheeses I used did not melt well & it was just a delicious-smelling but not pretty (really not pretty) thing that I could not post here & lure a single person to try it. If you are not vegan – use whatever cheeses you prefer and, if you are vegan, either use your favorite (and – hopefully – melty) mozzarella. I used real mozzarella in the last half hour of cooking time – which is why it has the golden, melted topping. But – had I not been under pressure to make it LOOK pretty – I would have left it vegan & just shoveled it into my face – because it really is yummy! And – when I am home & eating alone – WTF do I care what it looks like? So – vegan or not – I think you can modify this to suit your diets & have a yummy kale & potato gratin.

Creamy Kale & Potato Gratin (Vegan or Vegetarian)

Serves 6 as a side

INGREDIENTS

1-2 TBS olive oil or coconut oil

1/2 large onion – diced

2-4 garlic cloves – chopped

1-3 jalapenos – diced (very, very optional – I just like spice so I used 3)

2 small heads of kale – ribs removed & chopped

10 small potatoes (or any combination – I used a mix) – sliced into 1/4″ slices

2 cups soy or almond or other milk

2/3 cup vegan sour cream

10 slices vegan cheese (I used 2 sharp cheddar slices & 8 Chao Original slices) or other grated cheeses (I used about 1 cup but more is always better and I would have used way more had I had it – but less is healthier so…your call)

1-2 cups grated vegan mozzarella (I used real mozzarella because I had it but my homemade vegan mozzarella would be great and it kinda melts!)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the sour cream into the milk & set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Cook the onions until soft & then add the kale, jalapenos (if using) and the garlic. I added a few TBS of water to aid in the wilting of the kale. You can do this or not – but simply cook until the kale is wilted & soft. Set aside.

Grease a casserole pan (I used olive oil Pam) and layer 1/3 of the potato slices in the bottom of the pan. Add 1/2 the kale & 1/3 of the non-mozzarella cheese. Add another 1/3 of the potato, the rest of the kale & another 1/3 of the non-mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining potato & non-mozzarella cheese. Pour the milk/sour cream blend over it all. I was a lazy whisker & my sour cream stayed lumpy. It looks bad but didn’t hurt the recipe. Add some S&P.

Cover with foil & bake for 1 hour.

Remove from oven & top with the grated mozzarella. Bake – uncovered – another 20-30 minutes or until the gratin is sorta firm & your cheese (especially if using real cheese) looks done. Non-melting vegan cheese might never look done – so – be careful not to overcook the gratin because it will dry out.