root veggie gratin

Yesterday, my Beloved made a most delectable dinner, utilizing the wonderful array of root veggies purchased at the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market. He has made this recipe before (it's based upon a recipe for a Vegetable Gratin-Soufflé from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone), but his variations (and perhaps my mistake?*) this time made the dish even more spectacular. Here's the recipe as Craig prepared it (sans my "mistake")...

Root Vegetable Gratin

Ingredients:

• butter for dish
• 4 cups root vegetables (parsnips, carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes)
• 1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs
  
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 small onion
• 1/2 c. grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 eggs, separated*
• salt a7 freshly ground pepper
• pinch of grated nutmeg

Preparation:

• preheat oven to 375
• lightly butter 8x10-inch gratin dish
• steam or parboil veggies until barely tender. drain and rinse under cold water. chop veggies
• lightly brown bread crumbs in 2 Tbsp. of butter in small saucepan. stir in milk. when it's hot to touch, turn off heat.
• meanwhile, cook onion until translucent in remaining butter in small skillet over medium heat (about 3 minutes). combine onion, vegetables, and bread crumb mixture in bowl. stir in cheese and egg yolks. season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg (the recipe says, "to taste", but I would advise against tasting raw egg)
• beat egg whites until stiff*. fold whites into veggie mixture.
• pour into prepared dish and bake until puffed* and browned, about 30-35 minutes.
• serve immediately
• expect great praise from your significant other, who may even blog about how amazing you are

*Okay, so I was sous-chef for this one. And one of my assignments was to separate the eggs. I have enough experience in the kitchen that I know that I should separate the eggs one at a time. But I forgot. We only had two eggs, and the yolk of one broke into the whites of both. So alas, this was not a soufflé. But perhaps this is why I liked it so much. I wonder if the denser texture concentrated the yummy flavors. I don't know. You can try it both ways and see what you think.

Please leave a comment and let me know if you try this recipe.