Vegetables au Gratin

The French verb gratiner means to bake au gratin (with a cheese topping). Gratins are so popular that shallow baking dishes, which give the maximum amount of crisp, brown crust are often called gratin dishes. Typical vegetable gratins are made with cauliflower or root vegetables such as turnips or carrots. The cooked vegetables are coated with a cheese or béchamel sauce (although a tomato sauce may be substituted) and sprinkled with a topping of grated cheese, breadcrumbs or chopped nuts, or a combination of these. The gratin is browned in the oven until golden, or it can be browned under the broiler. The sauce may be left plain without a topping, for a smooth melting crust.