The Art Of Eating'S Turnip Gratin 

1. 1

   Melt the butter in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook and stir the mixture for 1 minute. Add the cold milk all at once and immediately whisk the combination smooth, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Stir continuously, switching to a wooden spatula or spoon and still covering the whole bottom, until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Lower the heat, and add the bay leaf, ham, and the onion stuck with the cloves. Cook at a steady low bubble for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally across the whole bottom of the pan. Place a heat diffuser beneath the pan if necessary to keep the sauce at a bare bubble and prevent sticking and browning. Remove the bay leaf, ham, onion, and cloves. Taste and season well with salt, enough to season the vegetable, too; grind in pepper and add a few gratings of nutmeg, just enough to detect. If necessary, thin the bechamel with milk to an easily pourable consistency, whisking it together-a slightly lumpy consistency will make no difference in the end.

2. 2

   Heat the oven to 350u00b0F. Butter well a baking dish, an 8-by-12-inch oval or equivalent. Arrange half the turnips in one layer and pour half the bechamel over them. Arrange the rest of the turnips in an even layer and add the rest of the bechamel, so as to cover all the turnips. Bake until a knife or fork shows the turnips in the center are soft, about 1 hour. Take the dish from the oven, sprinkle breadcrumbs over the surface, and distribute over them a generous number of thin shavings of butter (more easily shaved from a cold stick). Brown the surface under the broiler, watching and taking care that the dish is far enough from the source that the crumbs don't blacken.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.

No additional tips available.