Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin

The Christmas vegetable side we didn't know we needed

Brussels Sprout and Chestnut Gratin

In the UK, Brussels sprouts make their only appearance at Christmas. For a vegetable with such little screen time, it’s a wonder they’re so famous. (Or infamous?) What’s more, Brussels sprouts dishes always look sorry for themselves. So there’s no wonder recipes chuck in a packet of bacon, a block of cheese, heck I saw a Brussels sprouts and marmalade recipe the other day, all to brighten up those little bullet-shaped cabbages. And that’s exactly what I’ve done too – smothered them in bechamel and cheese to make a Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin. Because there’s no denying a sprout is a sprout and there is little we can do about it.

Christmas has crept up rather sneakily this year, I can practically feel it breathing down my neck, reminding me to hop to it with the present purchasing. Everything got a bit way-laid – my sister got married at the beginning of the month. Afterwards, we all suddenly felt free, unburdened by commitments and emailing the ruddy car hire, and as for me, making that wedding cake (the amount of cussing my poor parents and sister could hear drifting from the kitchen), but, in the end, it really was the example of everything falling into place on the day – even the weather played ball with the air simply glittering with frost floating in the morning light.

And my sister sparkled too! She wins the award for the best composure of the year, beaming and radiant in our mum’s wedding dress, roses in her hair. And her husband (well that’s so strange!) brought his game too, don’t you worry, he was decked out in the full kilt attire, including one of those little fancy bum bags, in his family’s tartan as did his brother, although he had ordered what looked like a tartan mini skirt. Fabulous knees on display though.

And the cake, well what can I say, it wasn’t my first wedding cake rodeo but I don’t think any amount of manifesting and affirmative thinking can prepare you for when the fourth attempt at Swiss meringue buttercream fails. Thanks though to a last minute American buttercream, a stylish stencil and a spray of roses and other fronds I could look my nemesis in the eye and feel pleased. And everyone ate it which I guess is the important factor to remember here (the base was sticky toffee and caramel and the top was lemon and berry curd, for anyone who’s curious).

So, yes, after lurching from simmering stress to utter joy, I’ve been feeling like a deflating bouncy castle, until I noticed the big event of the year is flashing me in the rear-view mirror.

Gaylord and I have planned the Christmas menu because this will be my first French Christmas along with his family in Par-ee (yes! Christmas in Paris! I feel like I’m living in a rom-com) so that will be coming to a newsletter near you, the Taste of Toulouse team have celebrated a great year with a sublime slap-up dinner and there was a raclette party last night – sleep on a belly full of cheese is not a pretty thing – and my friend Jenn has baked Christmas cookies and has not one but two Christmas trees up, so I feel like I’m being dragged behind a sudden Christmas frenzy, trying to grab onto the tailgate.

I decided to do this by cooking Brussels sprouts.

This Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin isn’t the only Brussels sprouts recipe I’ve tried in the last two days – no sir-ee, it’s been Santa’s workshop over here, albeit instead of presents, it’s been a sprout production line. When you have a 1kg-bag of Brussels sprouts in your vegetable drawer and you know you’re the only one in the household who will eat them, you might as well have some fun. First up, I tested the New York Times roasted Brussels sprouts, and although I let them cook too long so they looked gnarled like charcoal, they still tasted divine – sweet, salty, with a soft melting texture – and I was disappointed to find the recipe needed no alterations whatsoever.

Next, I genuinely earmarked that Brussels sprouts and marmalade concoction. What can I say, Brussels sprouts need love and if that comes in a jar of orange preserves, who am I to judge? That was to be my back up if this Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin didn’t pan out the way I wanted – and I suppose, lucky for us depending how you feel about marmalade, it worked a treat.

This year’s Christmas side: Brussels Sprout and Chestnut Gratin

With such competition out there for the most imaginative Christmassy Brussels sprout side, I knew this dish had to pull out all the stops – fire crackers, confetti canons, the works. So, when I saw the recipe for a Brussels sprouts gratin on Olive’s website, I had this playing in my head as the world blurred around me.

Dousing a vegetable in cheese sauce is nothing new – roasts are quite frankly improved when there’s a cauliflower cheese on the side. Leeks, broccoli, and now Brussels sprouts need only a drizzle of cheesy bechamel, a quick blast under the grill and you have the easiest of gratins – creamy sauce tumbling off the serving spoon as you hurry a dollop to your plate.

So, all I can do now is wonder why on earth it took me so long to consider Brussels sprouts-cheese for this recipe today. Or in fact, for all my Christmases up to now?

Thanks to the word ‘gratin’ being French, it sounds incredibly suave, when really you’re just making the same as a cauliflower cheese – minus the cauliflower – bundling all the vegetables in a thick Christmassy blanket of cheese sauce. The only difference is a sprinkling of breadcrumbs on top to give your serving spoon a nice crisp surface to break through, and for some reason it receives a lot more gasps and wolf-whistles when breadcrumbs are in town.

A Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin needs some chestnuts though – two Christmas icons in one dish might seem like a tussle for the spotlight but, honestly, both ingredients are quite meek and humble, they really need the aggression of cheese sauce armed to the teeth with sharp cheddar, mustard and roasted garlic to push them into centre stage. And there they sing, in perfect harmony in fact, the soft yielding texture of the sprouts complementing the chestnuts’ chew and the crunch of that cheesy breadcrumb topping.

The vegetable of the season has been given a makeover and can anyone really argue against the presence of a cheesy Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin on their table this Yule time? It’s a Christmas vegetable side for everyone, even Brussels sprouts sceptics.

Print Recipe

Brussels sprout and chestnut gratin

Brussels sprouts aren't known for their vibrant flavour so keep the salt handy here, you may need it to bring them to life.

Feel free to increase the cheese sauce quantity if you wish it to be more saucy – it's currently a thick coating sauce.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Course: Baking, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: British, Vegetarian

Keyword: breadcrumbs, Brussels sprouts, cheese sauce, chestnuts

Servings: 4

Author: Adapted from Olive’s recipe

Ingredients

• 1 packet of uncooked chestnuts or 100g cooked vacuum-packed

• 2 medium-large cloves of garlic

• 500 g Brussels sprouts stems removed and halved

• 50 g flour

• 50 g unsalted butter

• 450 ml milk

• 100 g sharp cheddar grated

• 3 sprigs of rosemary finely chopped

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 65 g dried breadcrumbs

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/390°F. Prepare the chestnuts by carefully cutting a cross into their hard shells. Once the oven is hot, place them on a baking tray, add the two garlic cloves and roast everything for 30 minutes, until the shells are opening and the garlic is soft.

• Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the sprout halves and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Drain through a colander and leave to sit as you make the cheese sauce.

• In a smaller saucepan, add the flour and butter. Set over medium heat, allow the butter to melt and stir to combine into a paste. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring then remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the milk, stirring with each addition. It will thicken so beat out any and all lumps then add more milk. Continue until all the milk is gone and you have a smooth, silky sauce.

• Return the pan to the heat and bring to a boil to cook the flour. Stir as it cooks for around 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat again and add 40g of the cheddar, the chopped rosemary and mustard. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins and puree the cloves with your knife. Add to the sauce, season with salt and pepper and stir everything to combine.

• Peel the chestnuts of their shells and any crunchy skin clinging to the meat. Chop the chestnuts into small pieces and add 100g to the cheese sauce.

• Season the Brussels sprouts with a little salt and add them to the sauce too. Stir everything together again and taste for seasoning.

• Tip the Brussels sprouts mixture into a baking dish and smooth it all down flat. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and the remaining grated cheese. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes until the breadcrumbs are no longer powdery and the cheese has melted. If you want, grill the gratin for 5 minutes to crisp up the topping. Serve the gratin alongside your Christmas lunch!