Culinary Caravan's May Recipe of the Month
Lite Broccoli au Gratin (serves 8-10)
| Adding a small amount of lite cream cheese to this recipe will give you all the creamy flavour and texture of a classic au gratin, but with a lot less fat. | |
| 4 stalks | fresh broccoli, florets only |
| 1 tbsp | extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 cup | red onion, finely diced |
| 2 cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 1/2 cups | medium béchamel sauce (recipe follows) |
| 2 oz | lite cream cheese |
| 1/2 cup | white old cheddar cheese, grated |
| 1 tsp | dried mustard powder |
| 1/2 tsp EACH | salt and freshly ground pepper |
| 2 tbsp | butter, melted |
| 1/2 cup | Panko Japanese breadcrumbs |
| Medium Béchamel Sauce | |
| 2 tbsp | fat-reduced margarine |
| 2 tbsp | all-purpose flour |
| 1 1/2 cups | 1% milk |
Preheat oven 350F.
Spray a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with vegetable spray and set aside.
In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, blanche broccoli florets for 3-minutes. Drain and immediately plunge florets into a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking process. Drain well and arrange in the bottom of prepared baking dish.
In a skillet over medium heat, add extra virgin olive oil and onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove skillet from heat and let onion mixture cool, then sprinkle evenly over florets.
For béchamel: In saucepan over medium heat melt fat-reduced margarine. Add all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute whisking frequently until all the flour has been absorbed by the margarine. Whisk in 1% milk and continue cooking 5-8 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Add cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mustard powder, salt and pepper. Continue whisking until cheeses melt and are completely incorporated into sauce. Pour over broccoli/onion mixture. Combine melted butter with Panko breadcrumbs and sprinkle evenly over broccoli/béchamel.
Bake in preheated oven 30-35 minutes, or until broccoli is tender and Panko topping is golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, blanche broccoli florets for 3-minutes. Drain and immediately plunge florets into a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking process. Drain well and arrange in the bottom of prepared baking dish.
In a skillet over medium heat, add extra virgin olive oil and onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove skillet from heat and let onion mixture cool, then sprinkle evenly over florets.
For béchamel: In saucepan over medium heat melt fat-reduced margarine. Add all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute whisking frequently until all the flour has been absorbed by the margarine. Whisk in 1% milk and continue cooking 5-8 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Add cream cheese, cheddar cheese, mustard powder, salt and pepper. Continue whisking until cheeses melt and are completely incorporated into sauce. Pour over broccoli/onion mixture. Combine melted butter with Panko breadcrumbs and sprinkle evenly over broccoli/béchamel.
Bake in preheated oven 30-35 minutes, or until broccoli is tender and Panko topping is golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Missed a recipe? Contact Chef Deb for the recipe of the month you missed.
