Escarole Gratin with Potato and Bacon
This delicious escarole gratin with potato and bacon is a Dutch dish served as a main. It’s an escarole bake with a creamy cheese sauce, flavorful ground beef, and topped with a cheesy potato gratin and bacon. It’s baked in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden. The casserole is easy to prepare—a real comfort winter evening casserole.
Equipment
- A conventional oven is used. When using a convection oven (with air fan) decrease the temperature with 30 °F / 20 °C
- casserole pan 13 x 9 inch
- frying pan
- Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs potatoes peeled, washed, cut into ¼ inch (0.5 cm) slices
- 1.1 lbs ground beef
- 3 tablespoons Kecap Manis sweet
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1.1 lbs escarole washed and sliced thinly
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3½ oz. cheese Gouda, grated
- 4 eggs size L
- 9 oz. bacon sliced in strips
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 430 °F (220 °C).
- Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes in boiling water.2.2 lbs potatoes
- Drain and let slightly cool.
- Mix the ground beef with the Kecap Manis.1.1 lbs ground beef, 3 tablespoons Kecap Manis
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and fry the ground beef until brown and done.1 tablespoon oil
- Remove the meat from the pan and keep it aside.
- Put the escarole in the hot frying pan (with adjacent water) and stir briefly.1.1 lbs escarole
- Then put the lid on the pan and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the sour cream, 4 eggs, and ¾ of the grated cheese in a bowl.1 cup sour cream, 4 eggs , 3½ oz. cheese
- Remove the endive from the heat and stir in the sour cream mixture.
- In the baking dish, put the escarole mixture as the first layer. Flatten with the back of a spoon.
- Spread the beef on top of the endive layer.
- Cover it with slices of potato.
- Sprinkle with the bacon and remaining cheese.9 oz. bacon
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
NOTES
1. Potatoes - Use floury potatoes to make this recipe. Russet, Doré, King Edward, and Maris Piper are great choices. You boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, so they are half done. This is important because, in the oven, they will cook further. But by giving them a head start, they get a crispy crust and a soft inside. Because you add bacon to the casserole, you don’t have to add extra salt while cooking potatoes.
2. Escarole (or endive) - a green leaf vegetable, a chicory family member. It looks like a salad green, but the flavor is more spicy and sharp. You could eat it raw, slightly cooked, or fully cooked like this endive casserole. You can substitute the escarole with kale if you like.
3. Kecap Manis - a sweet Indonesian Soy Sauce. It’s sweet, dark color and adds a soy sauce flavor; if you don’t have it, replace it with one tablespoon of all-purpose soy sauce and two teaspoons of brown sugar.
4. Cheese - use a flavorful cheese that melts well. Grated Gouda would be my first choice, but Cheddar would do well. If you want to have a fuller cheese flavor, use Emmentaler or Gruyère
5. Vegetarian version - Substitute the ground beef with vegetarian ground meat and the bacon with sun-dried tomato slices.
6. Oven - When you use a conventional oven, set the temperature to 430 °F (220 °C). In a convection oven, 390 °F (200 °C) is sufficient.
7. Storage
- Refrigerator, unbaked - Prepare the casserole, but don’t bake it in the oven yet. Cover it with foil and store it for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerator, baked - Let it cool quick and cover with foil. Store it for two days in the fridge.
- Freezer - Don’t freeze this casserole. The structure of the potatoes will change, and that’s not very delicious.
- Reheat - Cover the oven dish with aluminum foil and reheat for 25 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C)
Nutrition
Calories: 1159kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 78g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 30g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 353mg | Sodium: 1034mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3576IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Iron: 7mg
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