This winter veggie gratin features layers of butternut squash, sweet potato, and beets, a walnut thyme topping, and miso gravy. An elegant side dish for your Thanksgiving and Christmas table!
As a vegetarian, navigating holiday dinners can either be the worst or the one meal you save your stomach for. Make friends with side dishes, because they’re usually carbs or veggies, which are the best parts of the meal in my honest opinion.
I was tempted to make a stuffing casserole for Week 3 of The Great Vegan Bake-Off but since I predicted that Chew’s casserole would be carb-based (and I was right), I went with a veggie-based side dish so my friends and I would have a more balanced meal. Inspired by this gratin, I wanted something that made vegetables look elegant and taste delightful. I make a big batch of this quick miso gravy several times every year because it is just so good! Naturally, I thought to douse my favourite winter veggies in my favourite gravy and bake it with a crunchy topping, as a sort of savoury crumble. Or in proper French culinary terms, a gratin.
Things I would do differently
- Make the gravy thicker. The gravy is perfect as written for serving at the table, but for this casserole, a thicker sauce would’ve given it better structure. You can try using 1 1/2 tbsp margarine and 3 tbsp flour for more roux.
- More topping. A part of me wanted the fanned design to peek through but a part of me was like “Gurl, if this was apple crumble, this is an unacceptable amount of topping.” If you love lots of topping, try adding 3 to 4 tbsp of oat flour and enough olive oil to bring it into a wet-sand consistency. Also bump up the salt a smidgen. The paprika didn’t come through so you can totally leave that out.
- Beets or no beets? Beets are delicious and the pop of red is gorgeous. What you don’t see in the photo is that everything below had been dyed pink too. If you wan’t to keep the colours distinct or pink gravy isn’t your thing, don’t layer beets on the bottom of the casserole, just lay a few slices on top. Or go the no-beets-at-all route and have a squash and yam gratin!
- VEGGIES
- ½ large sweet potato
- 1 small butternut squash
- 1 large red beet
- GRAVY
- 1 tbsp vegan margarine
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp miso
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- SAVOURY GRANOLA TOPPING
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup chopped raw walnuts
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika salt*
- A generous pinch of black pepper
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cut veggies into ⅛" thick slices. Arrange a flat layer of each veggie into the bottom of a shallow casserole dish. Then fan out remaining slices and lay them on top. See link in blog post for photo reference.
- In a small saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat and then add the flour. Whisk until it forms a paste then cook for about 30 seconds more before slowly adding the broth.
- Add the remaining gravy ingredients and whisk until smooth, bubbling, and thickened. Take out the sprig of rosemary (leaves can be left in).
- Pour the gravy over the arranged veggies.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all the granola topping ingredients. Scatter over the top of the veggies.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.
This looks delish. It is a unique combination of flavours.
Are you based in PoMo?