Shave Ham Gratin
By: Quay Po Cooks
Published: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 6:21pm

Ingredients




1 pound fresh asparagus (fat spears)
1 pound cauliflower (thinly sliced)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cube chicken stock
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded red cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Havarti cheesec
2 hard-cooked eggs peeled and sliced
2 cups shaved ham

Preparation

1 Wash asparagus and break off tough ends. With vegetable peeler, remove scales from     stalks if necessary. (Peeling the bottom inch or two of stalk eliminates any possible fibrous part.) Bias-cut stalks into about 2-inch lengths. Cook in boiling water until just tender; drain and dunk them in cold water and drain again. Place half of the asparagus and cauliflower in a six inch casserole dish. 2 Bechamel sauce: Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and salt; whisk until blended well.  Add milk and whisk again. Cook slowly on a low flame and stir until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat. 3 In a shallow baking dish, begin with a bottom layer of  mixed cauliflower and aspargus tips in the bottom of the casserole and pour some of the sauce over that layer.  Add a layer of shaved ham & sliced eggs, then pour some of the sauce over them.  Continue layering in this fashion, alternating between the vegeteables and the ham & egg layer until the top of the baking dish is  reached.  Finish with the top layer featuring the vegetables again. Pour  the rest of the sauce overe the top evenly and spirinkly with a bit more shredded cheese. 4 Preheat oven at 180 degrees C (212 degrees F) and bake for 25 to 30 mins keeping a close eye on the top to avoid exceeding the caramelization stage and burning the dish.

About


The result (as shown in the pictures) is a traditional gratin(1) heavily featured in French cooking. This method offers considerable room for experimentation in terms of ingredients but usually features cheese, butter, bread crumbs and /or egg  as common elements to creat the crusty top. 
(1)  "Gratin is a widely used culinary technique in food preparation in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg and/or butter. Gratin originated in French cuisine and is usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind. A gratin is baked or cooked under an overhead grill or broiler to form a golden crust on top and is traditionally served in its baking dish." - Wikipedia