Winter gratins that have everything to please

Gratin is a traditional dish that is baked in the oven. Just like the tagine in North Africa, the gratin gave its name to the dish in which it is cooked. The name of the recipe, for its part, actually comes from the gratinated appearance of the final dish. Gratin is a convivial and quite complete dish thanks to the different layers of ingredients, which leave room for all kinds of combinations.

How to make a winter gratin?

As said previously, a gratin is prepared in a gratin dish. Traditionally, different ingredients of your choice are layered alternating with a liquid sauce. Crème fraîche, tomato sauce, béchamel, cheese sauce… Anything goes. When cooking, this sauce provides moisture to the ingredients, and also serves as a binder.

Once the gratin is ready, slide everything into the oven and let it cook until a more or less light crust forms on the surface. You can also sprinkle your gratin with grated cheese or breadcrumbs, for an even more delicious effect.

Ingredients

In terms of ingredients, we use winter vegetables such as leek, very popular in gratin, spinach, squash, or cauliflower, which we garnish with cheese, mushrooms, meat or fish. For the essential gratin dauphinois, we bring potatoes cut into slices, crème fraîche and milk. In addition to the classic winter vegetable gratins, many recipes are prepared with a pasta base, like the famous American mac and cheese, ultra-gourmet with its cheesy center.

To follow: our most comforting winter gratins recipes, for a 100% cocooning winter.