Turnip and Onions Gratin

In French, the word gratin originally referred to the tasty crust left behind in a pan after baking. This leave behind was scraped off and eaten by the chef as a bonus to the dish - think of it as “chef privilege”. Le gratin is also a French idiomatic expression meaning “the upper crust” of society.

Baking something au gratin involves heavy cream and grated cheese and/or breadcrumbs. Cooked on high heat and an oven-proof dish.

A gratin is another model of culinary simplicity that turns into food mastery.

How bad can it be?

A root vegetable cooked with onions, cheese and cream until soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

If you want a little more additional crunch, do not hesitate to add some bread crumbs as topping to the recipe below. My preference is Japanese break crumbs (aka: Panko).

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 lb turnips, peeled and grated
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper - to taste

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
   
   
2. Butter a 9-inch-square baking dish
   
   
3. In a bowl toss the turnips and the onion with the cornstarch, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste
   
   
4. Transfer the mixture to pan - patting it down ingredients
   
   
5. Drizzle the cream evenly over the mixture
   
   
6. Sprinkle the mixture with the remaining 1 tbsp Parmesan
   
   
7. Bake the gratin in the middle of oven until the top is golden brown (about 25 to 30 mins)