Winter Vegetable Croustade Au Gratin

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Comments (5)

Course Side Dishes
Prep. Time 30 mins
Cooking Time 35 - 40 mins
Yields 4 to 6 servings

Top rated

This croustade is a hearty meal for lunch, but it can also accompany your favorite meal.

Ingredients

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups (1 L) your choice of winter vegetables (carrots, turnips, rutabaga, celeriac, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.), peeled and cut in 1 inch sticks or diced

1 tsp (5 mL) fennel seeds

2 cups (500 mL) Canadian Old Cheddar, shredded

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, melted

2 slices of whole wheat bread, crumbled or diced

3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Did you know?

Firm cheeses like Gruyere and Monterey Jack make great additions to soups. Find more great matches for your favourite cheeses.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C).

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, vegetables and fennel seeds for 20 minutes or until onions and garlic are golden. Salt and pepper to taste and transfer to an ovenproof dish.

In a bowl, combine cheese, melted butter, breadcrumbs and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Top vegetables evenly with cheese mixture. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are soft and cheese topping is golden and crusty.

Tips

This quick-to-prepare recipe can be made with whatever vegetables are on hand. Makes an excellent side dish for fish or poultry, or add cubed, cooked meat or poultry to vegetables before baking.

Note: The croustade may be prepared ahead and baked or reheated just before serving.

For a change of taste, use Canadian Swiss, Gouda, Medium Cheddar or Provolone.

54 people love this recipe.

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Comments

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Teresa
October 6th, 2011

Sometimes use caraway rather than fennel. Excellent either way. It has become a family favorite! Delicious!
judy
October 17th, 2010

Good to know that the cooking time wasn't appropriate for these veggies, as I suspected. The winter vegetables listed in the recipe take a lot more than 15 minutes to bake at 400F with 5 minutes of sauteing. Even in if they are diced. So I would either lengthen the cooking time with the listed veggies, or I would replace the root vegetables with veggies that don't require as much cooking & can be eaten raw, like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots
Cynthia Fehr
October 15th, 2010

How about making it Greek style with seeded plum tomatoes, baby spinach leaves, red onions and zuccini for the veggies, then for the cheese use feta and mozzerella, spices I would use would be some sweet basil, marjoram, thyme, garlic, sea salt and pepper, also for the bread use a nice twelve grain or perhaps even a nice Flax ..
Brandy
January 2nd, 2010

I'd also parboil the veggies a bit first just to soften them up, as it was, I just sauteed them for longer than the recipe called for on medium-low heat covered.
Brandy
January 2nd, 2010

I made this recipe tonight, and it turned out pretty well.
I didn't have parsley, so I added oregano, poultry seasoning, and green onion to the topping and it turned out tasting like stuffing (yum). I used carrots, potatoes and turnip for my veggies, and sauteed them with the onion and garlic, plus added some thyme and seasoning salt.

If I were to make this recipe over again, I would not add the butter that is called for. I'd spray the pan with a nonstick spray, and omit the butter completely from the topping... there's 2 cups of shredded cheese which produces more than enough grease.

Hope this is helpful!