"Baked Vegetables with Cheese"

Continental cuisine is one of my favourite things to make and eat at all times. Every multi cuisine restaurant survives on a mix of continental and theme food.  The dishes are superbly baked and dressed with beautiful sauces and herbs. The flavours of continental cuisine are not overpowering, not spicy and not bland at the same time. They are a perfect balance of different ingredients which act wonderfully together.We can call this type of cuisine as light & heart which is loved by both vegetarians and non vegetarians.

I like to make a continental dish as a side when I am serving curries and spicy food to guests to balance the flavours. Today, I'll share the most common and preferred dish from the Continental world. 

This is the recipe for Baked Vegetable with cheese. You might know it as Vegetable au Gratin or simple baked vegetables or continental vegetables. The main ingredient for this dish is the White Sauce which is also known as the Bechamel sauce.

"Baked Vegetable with cheese"

Ingredients:

For the white sauce :

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp plain flour 

2 and 1/2 cups milk - slightly warmed

salt and pepper to taste

For the vegetables :

8-10 french beans - diced long

1 carrot - diced in round pieces

6-7 florets of cauliflower - cut small

1/2 cup cabbage - shredded

1/2 cup shelled peas

1 potato - cut into small cubes

1 small capsicum - chopped

8-9 baby corns

2 green chillis - chopped ( optional - if you like spicy )

For topping :

1 cup grated Parmesan or processed cheese

1 tomato sliced

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven at 180*C for ten mins before baking
• To prepare the sauce melt butter in a thick bottom pan, add flour and keep stirring on slow flame till it becomes little pink in colour
• Add the milk slowly and keep stirring to avoid any lumps. (You can use a whisk to make it smooth)
• Keep stirring and cooking till it becomes thick and gets a smooth consistency.
• Add salt and pepper powder and mix well. Keep aside.
• Wash all the vegetables and boil them in a pressure cooker ( one whistle) / a deep pan filled with water for 10 mins  / in a microwave for around 5 minutes till they become soft and slightly cooked 
• Seive the vegetables and once dried add them to the white sauce and mix well. ( Do a salt check at this time as the quantity has increased after adding the vegetables. Add more salt and pepper if required). Add green chillis and mix well.
• Remove the mixture in a oven proof dish.
• Top it up with the grated cheese and decorate with tomoto slices.
• Bake for around 15 minutes in the preheated oven till the sauce bubbles and the cheese has melted
• Serve hot with garlic bread or as a side dish.

Note : 

You can choose and try this recipe with other forms of vegetables as well. The other option is to add pasta or macaroni to make it a complete filling dish.