Sharon Juergens, managing partner and executive chef at Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro in Novi, loves this dish because it has “a beautiful ombre color effect,” she says. “There is a perfect balance of sweet and earthiness from the root vegetables — and it takes your dinner from an ordinary ‘Sunday night scalloped potato dish’ that your mom might have whipped up to restaurant quality without much more effort or equipment.”
Root Vegetable Gratin (Serves 4)
Ingredients
½ cup corn flakes
2 peeled and sliced medium sweet potatoes
1 small peeled and sliced rutabaga
2 or 3 peeled and sliced large red beets
1 Spanish onion, sliced thin
6 eggs
3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons salt
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Butter, for greasing pan
1 ½ cups Italian cheese blend (Parmesan, Asiago, Romano) divided into 1 cup and ½ cup
Directions
Slice all the veggies to ¹/3 of an inch thick, by hand, through a Cuisinart using the slicing blade or with a mandolin. Do each vegetable group individually, and store separately while you work since you are going to layer this gratin by color. Slice the beets last as they temporarily discolor the Cuisinart, knife, or mandolin. Scramble the eggs, add the cream, and the salt and pepper and set aside (this is your custard mix). Butter the bottom and sides of a 3-quart casserole baking dish (9×13), lay the beets down first, then the sweet potatoes, add half the custard, then a half cup of the cheese blend. Top those layers with the onions, then the rutabaga. Add the last of the custard mix and top with the last cup of cheese blend. Cover with a large sheet of parchment paper and foil. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour, until vegetables are fork tender. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes to brown the top. Note: Serves eight as a side dish
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