Beetroot Dauphinoise

I got a bit obsessed with Potato Dauphinoise when I was a teenager. I loved cooking myself overly complicated meals and I remember spending hours slicing waxy potatoes into the thinnest slices before layering them up with onions, cheese, seasoning and cream - arranging them with great precision in my oven tray of choice!

Fast forward several decades and I still love a Dauphinoise, but now I prepare it in the quickest time possible - and I’m a bit less heavy with the cream and cheese.

This dish is very flexible. You can use pretty much any combination of waxy root vegetables (i.e. not very floury potatoes). And you can either use lots of cream and cheese for a very rich version - or water and veggie stock for a lighter (and vegan) alternative. As long as it is well seasoned, both options are delicious.

Serves 6 (20cm x 30cm dish)

1.2kg root vegetables - beetroot with a few waxy potatoes and half a turnip
2 medium onions
A small knob of butter, or splash of olive oil
salt and pepper
150g cheese, grated or crumbled - I used a mix of goats cheese and cheddar
500ml veggie stock or cream or milk (or a combination of all of these)

1) Wash and thinly slice your beetroots (I don’t bother to peel them - just wash them thoroughly and trim off any fine rootlets). You can use a madolin to get really thin slices - but I just use a knife.

2) Wash, peel and slice the turnip.

3) Wash and slice the potatoes (again, I don’t bother to peel them)

4) Peel, halve and thinly slice your onions.

5) Oil your baking dish with olive oil, or rub the bottom with a knob of butter

6) Put a layer of root veg (slightly overlapping) into your dish, then sprinkle with onion ribbons, grated cheese and salt and pepper. You’re aiming for 3 or 4 layers of root veg, so portion it out approximately for each layer.

7) Repeat this pattern (layer of veg, plus onions, cheese and seasoning) until you run out of ingredients or get to the top of your dish. Finish with some extra cheese on top.

8) Make your veggie stock (if you’re using a stock cube) in a measuring jug. Top up to 500ml using cream or milk. If you’re not using stock then you will need to season the cream/milk a little.

9) Pour the liquid over the layered vegetables and then bake in a warm oven for approximately 1 hour at 150*C. Check it occasionally while it’s cooking - If the top is getting too brown, cover with tin foil. If the dish is drying out then add a little more liquid (cream or milk or water). And test with a sharp knife to see if the veg are soft and the dish is ready to serve.