Weekend Recipe - Cauliflower, Chard and Leek Gratin

Another recipe for your farm newsletter. This is the last one for the season; hopefully Beth will contribute to the Small Farm Central blog in other ways throughout the winter.

In review, here are a few of her recipes from the season:
Summer Tomato Recipes
Cinnamon-Vanilla Applesauce
Salad with Cantaloupe, Pecans and Honey Viniagrette
Apple-sage Roasted Chickenzilla & Honey-Sage Sweet Potatoes with Shallots
Sweet Potato, Gouda and Herb Gratin
The Versatile Mashed Sweet Potato
Fall Harvest Soup
Red, Gold and Orange Festive Salad
Coconut-Curry Pumpkin Soup
Weekend Recipe - Honey-Glazed Turnips with Shallots
Vanilla-Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan-Brown Sugar Crust

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A few beets are all that's left of my most recent CSA bag, but for those who are just ahead of the last frost, here's a great fall-into-winter recipe for the final cruciferous bounty of the season.

Cauliflower, Chard and Leek Gratin
1 medium head of cauliflower, florets only
1 bunch of chard, cleaned, stem removed and chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts only, washed well and chopped
1/4 cup chopped shallot
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
1/4 cup cream
1-3/4 cup 2 percent milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup grated Grana Padano cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the cauliflower until tender crisp, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, saute the leek and shallot for a few minutes until just starting to turn golden. Add the chard and saute until just wilted. Mix with the cauliflower in a roasting pan.

Make the bechamel. Start by melting the butter in a sauce pan. Add the flour and whisk until it begins to turn golden and smells "nutty" and no longer like raw flour. Add the cream and milk slowly, whisking as you go to keep it smooth. Add the nutmeg. Whisk over low heat until it thickens. Add the Grana Padano cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce evenly over the cauliflower mixture. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until the top turns golden and it is heated through. You can also do this with broccoli.

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