Yesterday was a root day in the biodynamic calendar so we harvested the last of our beets, carrots, salsify, swedes, turnips and parsnips. The garden is pretty much empty now, ready for its winter rest. There is just enough hearty brassicas and some kale to sustain us till early spring. Yesterday we dug up roots but we also planted them in the greenhouse. We seeded beets, carrots, onions and garlic so the cycle has already begun again.

For dinner I made a quick and delicious cavalo nero mornay sauce that was the base for a couple of hearty and comforting dishes to warm us up after a long day working outside. 

This recipe is for my followers who have been asking me for more themomix recipes!  

Brutto ma buono, ugly but good!

Root vegetables simmering on the wood stove

Cavalo Nero Mornay sauce

the vegetables are mixed with a generous amount of mornay and topped with a sprinkling of bread crumbs and grated parmesan and the gratin is ready for the oven.

Thermomix Cavalo Nero Mornay, root vegetable gratin (and a tuna casserole)

2014-12-18 01:25:32

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

For the Mornay Sauce

1. 1 shallot, quartered
2. 1 small carrot, cut in several pieces
3. 100 grams cavolo nero leaves
4. 30 grams bread flour
5. 50 grams butter
6. 50 grams grated parmesan cheese
7. ⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg to taste (optional)
8. 500 ml whole milk

For the Gratin

1. A selection of root vegetables (carrots, parsnip, beet, turnips, onions, etc)
2. butter
3. grated parmesan cheese
4. bread crumbs

For the Mornay Sauce

1. Remove the ribs from the cavolo nero and chop the leaves roughly.
2. Place it and all the other ingredients for the sauce in the Thermomix and blend for 10 seconds vel. 7.
3. Cook for 8 minutes. 90 degrees celsius, vel. 4.

For the root vegetable gratin

1. Preheat the oven to 175 Celsicus (350 F) and butter a gratin dish.
2. Choose a selection of root vegetables, scrubbed and peeled if necessary. Cut to roughly the same size. I used carrots, beets, salsify, swede and parsnip.
3. Place in a sauce pan where they will all fit snugly in one layer. Cover with a generous pat of butter and add just enough salted water to cover.
4. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until barely tender. "al dente".
5. Drain and toss with enough of the sauce to coat generously and transfer to a gratin dish.
6. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan.
7. Bake for half an hour or until the top is golden and bubbly.

Notes

1. If you don't use all the sauce it freezes nicely. I used about half for a root vegetable gratin and with the rest I made a tuna casserole using some lovely oil preserved tuna and homemade farro tagliatelle.

Tuna noodle casserole

1. In the thermomix I blended the remaining half of the mornay sauce with about 6 ounces of drained tuna, (I chose tuna preserved in olive oil). I mixed this tuna enriched mornay with 200 grams of whole wheat farro tagiliatelle cooked al dente. You could use store bought egg noodles or other pasta shapes. I topped this with bread crumbs and parmesan and baked it in the oven alongside the root vegetable gratin. It was delicious!

Susan McKenna Grant https://www.susanmckennagrant.com/