Back to beets – I have been eating beets for as long as I can remember. Â I love them roasted, pickled, boiled, raw. Â Love them. Â Never have I ever eaten them in a gratin though.
Domenica was so sweet to give me the green light to share this recipe with you.  So here it is.  Print it out, make it tonight and savor the amazingness that is beets & fontina!
Beetroot Gratin with Fontina and Walnuts is a delicious addition to your dinner menu. Beautiful in color and deep and earthy in taste.
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing
- 6 medium beets, peeled and thinly sliced with a mandoline or sharp knife
- 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine the beets and olive oil and toss gently to coat. In a small bowl, stir together the cheese and thyme. Arrange about one-fourth of the beets in the bottom of the prepared dish, overlapping them very slightly. Sprinkle about one-fourth of the cheese and thyme mixture over the beets and season lightly with salt and pepper. Repeat to make 3 more layers, sprinkling the last layer of the herbed cheese with a little more salt and pepper. Drizzle the cream over the surface and sprinkle with walnuts on top.
- Bake until the beets are tender and the walnuts are nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Remove the gratin from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Note: I was sent an advanced copy of Rustic Italian by Domenica Marchetti for preview purposes and have not been asked to provide a post. All opinions and photographs are my own.
What a fabulous recipe for the beautiful ruby red gems! This is a new frontier; I will be branching out from my standard roasted beets. Welcome to autumn!
Thanks so much for featuring Rustic Italian on your blog. So glad you enjoyed the beet gratin. Your photo is gorgeous. Cheers, D
I agree with Kath! It would never have occurred to me to make a beet gratin. Thank you so much for sharing! Enjoy your new cookbook!!!
I love beets, looks great
This looks so yummy! You are ruling my “To cook list” right now!
OK-you have me wanting to run to the store right away to buy some beets! I used to hate beets as a kid-wouldn’t touch ’em, but LOVE them now, so I am definitely bookmarking this recipe to make!
Where was this recipe when I had 6 lbs of beets from my CSA? Looks terrific!
Oh, my goodness. The thought of this simply blows my mind. I love beets and have never, ever seen them prepared like this. Or even with cheese and nuts in any kind of way, but it’s making me want to run out to the grocery store and grab some right now. I simply cannot wait to try this recipe and am most definitely adding a copy of this cookbook to my library.
what a unique use for beets! Thanks for this!
Love this!
I’ve never had a gratin with beetroots before! Will have to give it a try.
OMG – hubby and I absolutely LOVE beets. This recipe is amazing and on my list to make! Have a good night!
(I didn’t mean that question mark. I meant “What an unusual dish!”) 😉
What an unusual dish? It sounds really good, and your photos just make me want to dig in! Pinning this one for later! And I’ll definitely watch out for the Rustic Italian cookbook!
I love beets! And since I am getting in them in my CSA boxes…I am glad to have another recipe to boot. Fontina, thyme, cream, beets…Yum, no doubt!
I never would have thought of cooking beets that way. It looks fantastic!
Lordy, what a stunning looking dish! I could just dive right into it. This would surely have to convert even the most ambivalent beet-eater.