Cheese topped root vegetable dauphinoise
Creamy, moreish and packed with goodness, Miranda Gore Browne's cheese-topped root vegetable dauphinoise will have everyone digging in for more - a gorgeous partner for roast turkey
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 600ml milk
- 600ml double cream
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 180g smoked bacon or roasted ham (leave out if making vegetarian)
- 400g butternut squash
- 400g parsnips
- 600g potatoes
- 400g carrots
- 200g strong cheddar, coarsely grated
- 100g parmesan style cheese, finely grated
- Salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line an ovenproof dish with non stick baking paper.
- Peel and finely slice all of the vegetables.
- Put the milk and cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg into a large pan with the crushed garlic, sliced potatoes, parsnips, carrot and butternut squash and bring to the boil. Lift off the heat and strain out the vegetables, keeping the milk and cream to one side to cool a little.
- Put the oil into a frying pan and cook the bacon or roasted ham until crispy.
- Put about a third of the vegetables in the dish, sprinkle over some of the bacon and about a quarter of the cheese, then pour over some of the cream mixture. Continue with the remaining vegetables, bacon, cheese and cream mixture.
- Cover with foil and cook in the oven for about an hour. Remove the foil and cook for a further 25-30 minutes, test the vegetables with a sharp knife to check they are fully cooked. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and cook for a final 15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Bake the dauphinoise a few days before Christmas or on Christmas Eve, leave it to cool and pop it in the fridge overnight. A few hours before your Christmas lunch, take it out of the fridge and leave at room temp for about an hour, then put into a hot oven (at 200 degrees) and cook for about 40-45 minutes covered in foil until piping hot.
- Leave out the bacon for a vegetarian dish.
