Leek and Root Vegetable Gratin

What a champion first day of 2010.

I froze 3 giant bags of root soup, made a root and guyere cheese casserole, made four batches of pizza dough (3 to freeze immediately), made homemade crackers and hit the Goodwill for new organizer containers. All that and I slept in and did some minor purging in a closet. I also researched learning to make my own cheese and start jarring and canning. That's right, I'm feeling proud right now.

The reality is of course that I don't intend to go this hard very often. I mean, I'm not even a cook really. I romantically put together extravagent meals once a calendar quarter and otherwise stick to simple and boring (an attempt at healthy). This amount of attention to my food feels amazing and exhausting like a new lover right now. I'm expecting that while the intensity may alter in the future, the love will remain I hope, and my foundational skills will be stronger. Fingers crossed of course but that is where I see myself slow down right now. I figure if I keep on learning the things that create back-up meals and also support simplicity, the better I'll be.

Here is the casserole recipe I made. The link will take you to the original and below I made alterations by changing some of the root veggies to suit my available local produce.

RECIPE for LEEK and ROOT VEGETABLE GRATIN

Hands-on time: 45 minutes over course of an hour or more

Time to table: 2 hours

Serves 8 in standard servings, 12 in small-ish servings

COOK ROOT VEGETABLES

Salted water to cover

2 medium beets, trimmed, peeled, cut in chunks

2 medium purple-topped turnips, trimmed, peeled, cut in chunks

1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut in chunks

several carrots, trimmed, peeled, cut in chunks

Bring water to a boil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Once it comes to a boil, cook for about 10 minutes before adding the turnips and sweet potato. Drain. (You'll want to have the leeks and sauce done quite quickly after this, otherwise the sweet potatoes will turn brown.)

CLEAN & SAUTÉ THE LEEKS

2 large leeks, white and green parts only

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

How to clean leeks: Leeks collect grit between their layers. Luckily, cleaning them is easy. First slice off the dense part of the root end, crosswise. Remove any outer layers that are thick and tough. Then slice off the leaf end, just where it looks like the 'white' ends and the 'green' begins. The cut piece will probably be six inches to twelve inches long. Now cut the leek in half, lengthwise. Wash each half under running water, using your hand to loosely separate but still gather the layers. Cut leek halves crosswise into 1/2 inch half-rounds for sauteeing. Then, take the leaf end and remove another layer or two. Inside you'll find a tender 'light green' part that can also be cut into half-rounds for sauteeing.

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, melt the butter on MEDIUM, add the leeks and cook, stirring often, till soft. Set aside.

MAKE THE SAUCE

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup apple cider

1/4 pound good melting cheese such as Gruyere, cut in chunks

In the skillet or Dutch oven used for the leeks, melt the butter on MEDIUM. Stir in the flour, removing all the lumps. A spoonful at a time at first, slowly stir in the milk, stirring all the time to remove all the lumps, not adding more til the lumps are stirred out. (Press with the back of a spoon if needed.) Add the apple cider. Stirring often, cook til the sauce thickens. Stir in the cheese, the sauteed leeks and the cooked root vegetables. (You could also melt the cheese in the sauce but I really liked finding tiny pockets of cheese amid the chunks of vegetables.) Transfer to a baking dish. Let cool, cover and refrigerate. Return to room temperature.

COOKING

Grated fresh Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375F. Uncover gratin and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly throughout. Top with Parmesan and bake another 15 minutes.

TO MAKE AHEAD

The day before, assemble the entire gratin, except the Parmesan topping

Return to room temperature before baking

NUTRITION ESTIMATE

Serving 8, Per Serving: 223 Cal (38% from Fat, 13% from Protein, 49% from Carb); 8 g Protein; 10 g Tot Fat; 6 g Sat Fat; 28 g Carb; 6 g Fiber; NetCarb 22; 241 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 119 mg Sodium; 28 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 4 points

Serving 12, Per Serving: 148 Cal (38% from Fat, 13% from Protein, 49% from Carb); 5 g Protein; 6 g Tot Fat; 4 g Sat Fat; 19 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; 161 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 79 mg Sodium; 19 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 points