A friend in need (lunch with maman)

Creamy beetroot gratin with a parmesan crumble

A girlfriend here in Paris has just asked for my beetroot gratin recipe, which I made for our catch-up lunch together last week. She wants to make it for her own catch-up lunch with her mum tomorrow. It's a rich, warming and crazy colourful vegetarian treat. Perfect for lunch with mum, as she probably hasn't had it before, and is guaranteed to think it's delightful.

Here it is.

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Et en français…

Creamy beetroot gratin with a parmesan crumble

Serves 3, takes 15 minutes, plus 1.5hr oven time

vegetarian / main / winter / spring / easy peasy / quietly smug / gluten free / date night

Mop up the luscious pink sauce with a crisp green salad and a hunk of bread.

* Beetroot - 3 medium or 2 large, scrubbed, tops and tails removed

* Garlic - 1 clove, peeled and cut in half

* Double cream - 200ml

* Stock - 200 ml (veggie or chicken)

* Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp

* Oregano - 1 tbsp

* Butter - 1 tbsp

* Ground almonds - 2 tbsp

* Grated Parmesan - 1/3 cup

* Rolled oats - 1/3 cup

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Scrub the beetroot clean, then finely slice using the slice attachment on a blender or a mandolin. Careful of FINGERS with a mandolin.

Rub the garlic all over the inside of a small, deep roasting dish, then discard, or keep for another recipe.

In a bowl, mix the cream, stock and nutmeg together. Season well with salt and pepper.

Pack half the beetroot into the roasting dish and pour half of the cream mixture over the top, evenly distributing around the dish. Repeat with the remaining beetroot and cream mixture. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. It’s a good idea to place a baking sheet under the dish incase it bubbles up and spills. Not so pretty.

Meanwhile, make the crumble topping. In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, rubbing the butter into the mixture until you have an even texture.

After the beetroot has been cooking for an hour, remove the dish from the oven. Use a spoon to gently press the beetroot downwards – ideally the top layer should be just covered with liquid. Sprinkle the crumble over the top then return to the oven for another 30 minutes.