CSA Week 3 - June 17th - kohlrabi, squash, and Swiss chard gratin

Let's be honest from the get-go and state that this dish is better with potatoes. Starchy, creamy, soak-up-any flavor potatoes. But it's also completely acceptable with kohlrabi and summer squash. Even if you're Jonathan, for whom the taste of kohlrabi needs to be well masked/balanced (see here), the other ingredients in this dish make it okay. And if you're me, they make it good. 

I was going to "gratin" just about everything tonight - the daikons, turnips, kale, Swiss chard, maybe more. But in the end I decided to take it easy and keep it simple. I opted to make a gratin of kohlrabi, the eight ball squash, and Swiss chard. 

The gratin looks like this: thinly sliced kohlrabi, fresh thyme and parsley, flavorful cheeses, sauteed chard with onion and a pinch of nutmeg, more herbs, more cheese, bechamel with garlic, and repeat, except with a layer of squash slices instead of kohlrabi. Extra cheese on top.

The flavor profile of the herbs, cheese, and bechamel is outstanding and extremely versatile (and not originally mine, see below) so I encourage you to play around with this recipe based on what you have/what you like. I know I will.

Here's to gratin-ing! 

Kohlrabi, summer squash, and Swiss chard gratin

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter, plus enough to coat the baking dish

1 pound Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves chopped

Salt

Pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup milk

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 pound kohlrabi, heavily peeled (so there are no fibrous spots) and sliced very thin (about 1/8 inch). I did half moons to make it easy.

1 eight ball zucchini or other summer squash, thinly sliced like the kohlrabi. 

1/2 - 1 tablespoons minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 - 1 tsp. dried)

1/2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley (or 1/2 tsp. dried)

1 cup cheese (I used aged Gouda, Gruyere, sharp cheddar, and Asiago) plus more if desired. 

Directions

Cook onion in one tablespoon butter in a large skillet or pot over medium heat, stirring, until softened. Add Swiss chard leaves, some freshly grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until leaves are wilted. Drain out any excess liquid.

Combine milk and  garlic in a small saucepan and warm on medium-low heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, once melted, add flour. Cook the roux for a minute or two, until fragrant. Slowly whisk in warm milk and garlic mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. 

Preheat the oven to 400F and butter an 8 x 8 baking dish. Spread kohlrabi over the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs herbs, and 1/4 cup cheese. Distribute half of the greens mixture over the cheese, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, a quarter of the herbs, and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Pour half the bechamel over the first two layers then continue with the squash slices, salt, pepper, herbs, and cheese and then the remaining greens, salt, pepper, and herbs. Pour the remaining bechamel over the top of the gratin, pressing the vegetables slightly to ensure that they are as submerged as possible. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese (this is where I like to add a little extra).

Bake gratin for about 55 minutes, until golden and bubbly and most of the liquid is absorbed. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving to firm up and cool. 

Adapted from here