If you follow me on Instagram, you saw my announcement a few weeks back that I'm now an Affiliate for BreadSRSLY!! Y'all know how much I love their gluten free sourdough. It's frequently featured in my daily meals (like this, or this, DEFINITELY this or that) and in past recipes like my Parmesan Garlic Croutons, Mom's Caesar Salad and this Ham, Leek & Sourdough Dressing. I can't wait to start dreaming up even MORE delicious ways to enjoy this bread. First up: this creamy, crunchy Brussels Sprouts Gratin!
I actually first made this back in December for my 30th birthday weekend trip to Sonoma. I made this up as I went that weekend and after tasting the result, I knew it was only fair to you to recreate the recipe (and this time take notes).
'Gratin' is a French technique that simply means a dish with a browned crust of breadcrumbs. You know what makes a breadcrumb topping even better? Bacon. That's the start of this magical dish.
The brussels sprouts are first roasted and then tossed in a bechamel sauce. Keeping with French techniques (they sure know what they are talking about), a bechamel is simply a white sauce made from a roux and milk. Don't let the fancy French words scare you! Roux = butter and flour. I'll break it down for you in the recipe, don't you worry.
To bring it all together the brussels tossed in the bechamel go into a baking dish and then are topped with breadcrumbs and bacon. Is your mouth watering yet? After a quick pop in the oven this side dish is ready to enjoy!
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Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 min
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
Bechamel:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp gluten free flour, Bob's 1-to-1
- 1 c reduced fat milk, 2%
- Salt & Pepper
Gratin:
- 6 oz BreadSRSLY sourdough bread, 3 slices toast
- 6 cups brussels sprouts, cut into quarters
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 slices bacon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. While the oven is preheating, toast your bread and prepare brussels sprouts by cutting them into quarters. Toss sprouts with 1 tsp olive oil, juice of one lemon and salt. Roast on a baking sheet in the oven for 10-15 minutes, giving them a toss halfway through roasting. This will give the sprouts a nice roast, but won't cook them all the way through.
- While the brussels are roasting, put the toasted bread into a food processor and pulse until breadcrumbs form. I personally like my breadcrumbs on the larger side, but you can go as large or small as you choose. On a different baking sheet, spread the breadcrumbs out in an even layer and toast in the oven (at the same time as the sprouts is fine) for about 5 minutes, just so they become a bit more dried out.
- Remove breadcrumbs and brussels sprouts from the oven and set the aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
- Cook 3 slices of bacon until crisp. I fried my bacon in a skillet on stove top, but you can also do this step in the microwave. Blot with paper towels to remove excess grease and chop into smaller pieces. Combine breadcrumbs, bacon and remaining 1 tsp of olive oil in a bowl and toss.
- Next we make the béchamel! Warm your milk in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. While that is warming, in a sauté pan or a separate sauce pan (something with taller sides so that the sauce doesn't slop all over your stove!) melt the butter over medium high heat. Once melted add the flour, salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste begins to bubble. We want the butter+flour mixture to become a golden color, which will happen after about 2-4 minutes of cooking, but we don't want to let this burn. Pour in warmed milk and continue to stir the sauce. Raise to high heat and bring sauce to a boil. Lower heat and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes while stirring.
- In a large bowl combine roasted brussels sprouts and béchamel sauce. Toss so that the sprouts are evenly coated. Transfer into baking dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. To finish the gratin, raise heat and broil for 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!
Nutritional Information (1 serving):
180 calories - 6.5 g Protein, 24 g Carbohydrates, 7.5 g Fat