Gratinated eggs with celeriac and light béchamel sauce by dietician Hilde De Schuyteneer
Belgian dietician Hilde De Schuyteneer invites you to discover a casserole you’ve probably never tried before: eggs au gratin with celeriac, topped with a light béchamel sauce. This is an easy, economical and nutritious dish that is perfect for vegetarians.
Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 8 hard boiled Columbus eggs
- 1 celeriac
- 2 leeks
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 kg soft potatoes
- juice of 1 lemon
- 150 g grated Emmenthal cheese
For the light béchamel sauce (without butter) :
- 500 ml milk
- 300 ml celeriac cooking liquid
- 80 g flour
- Nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Other:
- An ovenproof dish
- Milk for the mashed potatoes
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Peel the celeriac, cut it into 1 cm thick slices and boil them in water with the lemon juice and the sprig of thyme.
- Clean the leeks and add them to the cooking water.
- Boil the potatoes and mash them with the milk and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the béchamel sauce: pour the milk and the celeriac cooking juice into a saucepan and stir in the flour. Bring to the boil and beat vigorously without stopping. When the sauce boils, remove from the heat. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Cut the leeks into slices.
- Spread a little olive oil in an ovenproof dish and top with mashed potatoes. Place the leek slices and celeriac on top, cut the eggs in half and place them on the celeriac. Pour over the béchamel sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.
- Bake in the oven until golden brown.
“I find that eggs are very valuable in a healthy lifestyle. I also encourage my patients to use them in the hot meal. Personally, I am more in favor of an egg as a meat substitute than veggie burgers. Veggie burgers and veggie meat substitutes generally have a very unfavorable composition (sugars, dyes, preservatives) and are often high in calories.”
