Recipe: root vegetable gratin by Blanche Vaughan
A comforting dish, packed with veggies and golden brown all over

I suggest making this comforting vegetable gratin the day before you plan to eat it, and then reheating and serving straight from the oven, said Blanche Vaughan. Like cooks and hosts, many dishes are more enjoyable when they've had some time to relax.
Ingredients: serves six
- 2 large Désirée or King Edward potatoes
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 large celeriac
- 3 large parsnips
- 100g butter, melted
- 2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
- 250ml double cream
- 125ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Peel all the vegetables and rinse well with cold water. If you have a vegetable-slicing machine, this is its moment. Slice each vegetable and keep separate so that the colours are not mixed up. Alternatively, cut the potatoes, sweet potatoes and celeriac in half and slice across as thinly as possible by hand, with a sharp knife. The parsnips may be sliced across whole, in thin slices.
- Choose a large enough ovenproof dish and brush with half the melted butter. In a small bowl, mix the rosemary with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Start to fill the dish with the potato slices – they should be arranged in concentric circles so that they slightly overlap one another. Add a sprinkling of the rosemary mixture.
- Cover the potatoes with half the sweet potatoes in the same way; then the celeriac; then the remaining sweet potatoes; then the parsnips. This final layer should be arranged carefully, with beautifully overlapping slices, as this will top the finished dish.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a saucepan, combine the cream, stock, bay leaves and garlic with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Heat until simmering. Remove the leaves and set aside. Gently pour the liquid over and around the sliced vegetables, allowing it to sink slowly into the dish before adding more. If you don’t need all the liquid, any leftovers could be used to top up the dish during cooking. Drizzle the rest of the melted butter over the top and garnish with the bay leaves.
- Place the dish on a baking sheet (as the cream may bubble over) and bake for 1 hour-1 hour 20 mins (10-15 mins on reheat). If the surface starts to colour too soon, cover with a piece of foil and continue to bake until a sharp knife pierces the centre easily. The top should be golden brown all over, with a few crisp, slightly burnt edges for colour. Remove the dish and serve, or cover tightly with foil until you are ready to serve.
Recipe from "House & Garden – A Year in the Kitchen: Seasonal recipes for everyday pleasure" by Blanche Vaughan, published by Mitchell Beazley at £35. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £27.99 (incl. p&p), visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Susie Dent picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The lexicographer and etymologist shares works by Jane Goodall, Noel Streatfeild and Madeleine Pelling
-
6 incredible homes under $1 million
Feature Featuring a home in the National Historic Landmark District of Virginia and a renovated mid-century modern house in Washington
-
The Harder They Come: ‘triumphant’ adaptation of cinema classic
The Week Recommends ‘Uniformly excellent’ cast follow an aspiring musician facing the ‘corruption’ of Kingston, Jamaica
-
House of Guinness: ‘rip-roaring’ Dublin brewing dynasty period drama
The Week Recommends The Irish series mixes the family tangles of ‘Downton’ and ‘Succession’ for a ‘dark’ and ‘quaffable’ watch
-
Dead of Winter: a ‘kick-ass’ hostage thriller
The Week Recommends Emma Thompson plays against type in suspenseful Minnesota-set hair-raiser ‘ringing with gunshots’
-
A Booker shortlist for grown-ups?
Talking Point Dominated by middle-aged authors, this year’s list is a return to ‘good old-fashioned literary fiction’
-
Fractured France: an ‘informative and funny’ enquiry
The Week Recommends Andrew Hussey's work is a blend of ‘memoir, travelogue and personal confession’