Grain Gratins

What's a gratin? It certainly wasn't anything in my mother's repertoire. Well – actually it was. But she called it a casserole.

If you want to get technical, a gratin is baked in a shallow pan and a casserole in a deeper one. Both are served in the dish they're baked in. I envision a gratin having a rich creamy interior and a crispy crust. A casserole brings to mind a thriftier concoction of leftovers mixed with sauce to stretch into another meal.

Here's the basic idea of a gratin based on grains:

Combine cooked rice (or other whole grain), a vegetable, sauce and a little cheese; mix them together and put it into a shallow baking dish; sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake. That's it!

The sauce (called béchamel) doesn't have to be a high fat, high calorie fancy French affair. You can make it with low-fat or non-fat milk or even vegetable stock. Use olive or canola oil instead of butter. Make the sauce in the microwave to cut the prep time in half. You can even mix it all together in the morning and bake it just before serving. What could be easier?

Since I nearly always serve a whole grain for Shabbat dinner, I prepare more than I need so I'll have "planned" leftovers for another meal during the week. I'm careful to keep grains parve, so they can be served with meat on Erev Shabbat and later as part of a dairy meal.

Here's what I made from last Shabbat's leftover red rice:

Rice and Broccoli Gratin

Prepare a white sauce in the microwave:

Put 2 tablespoons of canola oil and 1/4 cup finely minced onion into a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave the onions for a minute or two, until they're soft. Whisk 2 tablespoons of flour into the oil and onions and microwave for another minute. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of low-fat milk and microwave, whisking occasionally, for 2-4 minutes, until the sauce is thick and starts to boil.

Meanwhile, cut leftover steamed broccoli (a cup or two) into bite-sized pieces. Put it into a mixing bowl with 2 cups of cooked red rice. Shred a little kashkeval (or other variety) cheese into the bowl. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Pour the cooked sauce over the rice mixture and mix it all up. Pour it into a lightly greased shallow casserole or pie pan and sprinkle some bread crumbs over the whole thing. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 20-35 minutes, until it's heated through and bubbly.