Butternut Squash Gratin
A creamy butternut squash gratin made with onions, garlic and cream. Gruyere cheese and panko breadcrumbs create a crispy topping that becomes golden brown and delicious.
Yield: 6 as a side
Materials
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup (90 g) onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) heavy cream
- 1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ⅛ tsp pepper (or to taste)
- large pinch nutmeg (4-5 swipes from a whole nutmeg)
- 1 ¾ pounds (785 g) butternut squash, thinly sliced (⅛" thick) (6 cups slices)
- 2 sprigs thyme, divided
- ¼ cup (30 g) parmesan, grated (divided)
- ½ cup (55 g) gruyere cheese, grated
- ¼ cup (15 g) panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Butter a 1 ¾ quart or 9" x 9" baking dish. Set aside.
- Heat a medium pot on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, then add the onion. Saute' the onions until they become soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the heavy cream. Stir in the bay leaf, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil. Add the sliced butternut squash and stir to combine. Reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cover pot with a lid and cook for 12-15 minutes or until squash is just starting to become tender, occasionally stirring gently (to ensure cream or squash is not catching on the bottom of the pan).
- Once tender, spoon half of the mixture into the prepared baking dish (remove bay leaf when you find it). Sprinkle with half the parmesan and thyme leaves. Add the remaining squash and cream on top. Cover with remaining parmesan and thyme. Top with gruyere and panko breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
-small, whole sage leaves are also very good on top of this gratin, if you like crispy sage leaves. Place on top of all the cheese and breadcrumbs.
-the actual size of your baking dish is not that important. For more of the crunchy top layer, use a larger baking dish that creates a thinner layer of squash, therefore more surface area. You might need a little more panko and cheese to cover the top. For a thicker layer of soft squash, a smaller baking dish can be used. Alter the cooking time as needed by watching for when the top browns.
-for a less wet gratin, leave off 1/4 cup of the cream after simmering squash and filling baking dish with squash mixture.
-any kind of breadcrumb will work here if you don't have panko. I just think panko gives the crunchiest results.