This Sheet-Pan Gratin Bakes Up Crisp on the Edges, Creamy within the Center, and Completely Irresistible

Why It Works

The vast floor space of a sheet pan exposes extra of the gratin to direct oven warmth, guaranteeing most browning and a better crust-to-cream ratio, so each serving delivers each a crisp, tacky high and a young, saucy inside.
Baking in phases—first lined after which uncovered—ensures the potatoes change into tender, the sauce thickens, and the floor of the gratin turns into golden and crispy.

As soon as the fake-summer tease that’s September lastly passes and the air begins to scent faintly like moist leaves and sweaters, I, like many individuals, swap from salad mode to roasted root vegetable mode—ideally the sort that is blanketed in cream and cheese. This sheet-pan root vegetable gratin is the dish I need to dwell on from the primary cool day of fall straight by Thanksgiving. It is a stunner: effervescent, golden, and layered with flavors that style just like the season itself.

This gratin, developed by our colleague Marianne Williams within the Birmingham, Alabama, take a look at kitchen, proves that with the right combination of greens, cream, and cheese, together with good use floor space, a easy sheet pan can yield a wonderfully browned, evenly cooked outcome. As a substitute of baking in a deep casserole dish, which is conventional for gratins, the greens are unfold out throughout a rimmed baking sheet. That wider form means extra of the highest layer turns brown and crisp, whereas the greens beneath soften into creamy submission. Each serving consists of the perfect of each worlds—the browned, tacky crust and the silky inside—with out having to struggle your neighbor for an edge piece. It is also good for a crowd or the vacation desk since one sheet pan simply serves 8 to 12.

Critical Eats / Photographer: Robby Lozano, Meals Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Styling: Abby Armstrong

The combo of root greens right here is not random. Candy potatoes carry earthy sweetness; parsnips add a little bit spice and chunk; and golden beets lend each coloration and a faint minerality. It is simply the proper mixture of candy, savory, nutty, and only a contact of peppery chunk. The onions type the fragrant spine, cooked gently in butter till gentle and golden earlier than being hit with a splash of dry sherry. That fast deglaze provides an acidic punch that retains the gratin from tasting heavy, although it is unapologetically wealthy. The cream soaks up all that taste, carrying it by each layer of the vegetable.

For cheese, Marianne discovered that Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano are the successful duo. Gruyère melts into silky strings, whereas Parm provides sharpness for an extra-savory crust. Contemporary thyme and sage thread welcome woodsy taste by the dish with out overpowering it—their aroma is the primary to hit you as quickly you open the oven door.

Critical Eats / Photographer: Robby Lozano, Meals Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Styling: Abby Armstrong

What comes out of the oven is one thing that appears like fall foliage smothered in cheese. It is orange, gold, and pale cream, edged with crisp brown bits and effervescent corners. It is hearty sufficient to anchor a vegetarian dinner, fancy sufficient for Thanksgiving, however low-stress sufficient for a weeknight for those who plan forward. Slice it into neat rectangles or let it rustically spill onto the plate—I assure it’s going to be demolished both manner.

This recipe was developed by Marianne Williams; The headnote was written by Leah Colins.