Broccoli Potato Gratin

After my banana bread didn't turn out great, I decided to pick another recipe from Cooking Light for dinner. My boyfriend, your typical meat and potatoes man, likes nothing more than meat and cheesy potatoes for dinner. I bought some pre-made brisket from Trader Joe's (shhh, it's our secret!) and found this recipe for Broccoli Potato Gratin. My plan was to make one of his favorite meals the "healthy way" in hopes that he wouldn't know the difference.

Broccoli Potato Gratin

6 cups chopped broccoli florets

3/4 cup minced shallots

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 lbs peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 1/4 cups fat- free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons chilles butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 375*

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, toss to combine

3. Layer one-third of potato slices in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, overlapping to fit ; top with half of broccoli mixture. Repeat layers, ending with potato. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

4. Place flour in a medium bowl. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; stir in broth. Pour milk mixture over potato mixture. Top evenly with butter. Cover and bake at 375* for 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle evenly with cheese. BAke 25 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire rack 10 minuted. Yield: 12 servings. Serving size: 2/3 cup.

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 225, Fat: 7.4g, Protein: 10.1g, CHO: 30.1g, Fiber: 3.3g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Iron: 1.9mg, Sodium: 432mg

This dish doesn't photograph as well as the bread, but doesn't it look yummy? I made a few substitutions to the recipe listed above. I used nonfat milk instead of 2% and less-sodium vegetable broth instead of chicken broth simply because it's what I had in the house. I didn't see a reason to purchase new milk and broth for one recipe.

By the time my boyfriend got home from work, the potatoes were out of the oven. This dish definitely doesn't look like something out of Cooking Light with all of the "cheesy goodness" on top. The potatoes came out great and were awesome with the brisket. I opened a nice 2000 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with the meal- YUM. Next time I will try to actually make the brisket from scratch rather than slipping it in the oven for a few minutes.

Boyfriend had no idea what he was eating was anything different than the high fat, cheesy potatoes and beef he's used to eating. This is definitely a recipe I will have to keep on hand for when he's in a true meat and potatoes mood!

Shabbat Shalom!