Keep-It-Simple Side Dish: Baby Leek Gratin

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, its time to start planning for the next gluttonous holiday of the season. This baby leek gratin makes for a simple side that works great with everything from prime rib to roast chicken. Because the leeks melt into the rich cheesy sauce, its also great served with a crusty loaf of bread as an appetizer. Because the sauce is thickened using potato starch its easier than making a béchamel based gratin, and its also gluten-free. The best part is that you can prepare the whole thing ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until youre ready to serve it. A quick trip under a hot broiler will melt and brown the cheese, with the rich, creamy sauce bubbling up from between the sweet leeks. If youre not into leeks for some reason, this works great with other vegetables such as cabbage, turnips, or kale. Just adjust the initial cooking time (with the stock), so that the vegetables are nice and tender, but have not turned to mush.

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Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.