FOR A BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH PARTY, nothing beats this Creamy Gratin of Hard-Cooked Eggs. It’s easy to make. It’s gluten-free. And it’s rapturously-delicious. It’s also cook-friendly, because you can make the whole dish a day in advance, and then simply pop it in the oven shortly before your guests arrive. Here’s the recipe:
Creamy Gratin of Hard-Cooked Eggs
A sumptuous main course for a brunch or dinner party. The hard-cooked eggs are topped with a luxurious gluten-free béchamel sauce plus chopped, cooked bacon. The entire dish can be assembled a day ahead of time and then heated in the oven about 30 minutes before serving time. I like to garnish the dish with chopped, fresh chives just before serving.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- Butter or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the baking dish
- 8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced lengthwise in half
- 2 cups half-and-half (half whole milk and half cream)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, blended to a smooth slurry in 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 cup grated or shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
- 5 slices already-cooked bacon, roughly chopped
- A sprinkling of chopped fresh chives for garnish
Instructions
- Center the oven rack and preheat the oven to 350° or 180°C. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or non-stick spray. Arrange the eggs cut-side down in the prepared baking dish.
- The béchamel: In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the half-and-half to a boil. Immediately add the cornstarch solution, and whisk constantly until the the half-and-half thickens -- about 30 seconds. Off heat, stir in the Swiss cheese, mustard, nutmeg and salt.
- Pour the béchamel over and in between the hard-cooked eggs. Top with the Parmesan cheese. Arrange the chopped, already-cooked bacon over the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese melts and starts to bubble at the edges -- 20-25 minutes. Garnish with the chopped chives and serve.
Alexa MacKinnon says
Your presentations are wonderful! Please know, too, we love to hear you play the piano. It seems you always treat it as an add-on when, in fact, your playing should also be front and center. Front and center with the names of the pieces as well, please…and thank you!!
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TommyNible says
hi