Veg Augratin
Augratin is a traditional French recipe usually made with potatoes and cheese. The creamy cheese sauce is perfect to dunk in your toast and a great main course along with a salad, a very versatile dish and crowd pleasing, if I may say. The traditional way to make augratin is to bake potatoes with a heavy cream and cheese mixture, but I am doing it slightly differently as I want to make the dish light. Also instead of just potatoes, I am adding more veggies to make it colourful :)
What you'll need : (3 servings)
2 medium sized baking potatoes peeled 1 cup vegetables (sliced in different shapes) 2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened 2 cups béchamel sauce 1/2 tsp chilli flakes 1 teaspoon Salt Freshly ground Pepper, nutmeg to taste 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, freshly grated
How to:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the inside of the baking dish with butter.
Peel the potatoes and boil them in water with some salt for around 15 minutes. The potatoes shouldn't be cooked completely, just par boiled. This is done to reduce the baking time.
Now cook the vegetables of your choice, I used carrots, peas and broccoli. Again, boil these in water with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. The vegetables should not be overcooked, just cooked enough to be crunchy. If you are adding broccoli, it's better to boil them separately as the strong smell of broccoli may overpower the rest of the vegetables. Strain the vegetables and keep it aside.
Prepare 2 cups of béchamel sauce. You can find the recipe of the sauce here. Once the potatoes cool down, cut them into very thin round slices and lay it on the baking dish. Spread the half cooked vegetables over the potatoes
Pour about 2/3 cup of béchamel sauce over the layered vegetables. Sprinkle some pepper and nutmeg (optional). Sprinkle some cheddar cheese (as much as you like).
Bake for around 30 minutes covered with foil. Remove the foil and allow to bake until the top is golden brown and bubbling. Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful.
