Beef and Aubergine Potato Gratin
A golden oven bake of seasoned beef mince, tender aubergine and sliced potatoes under a creamy milk sauce. Comforting, high in protein and not spicy.
- Total
- 95 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 65 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Making a roux
- Savory
- No rush
- Mediterranean
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 200°C. Peel the potatoes and slice them 3 mm thin. Cut the aubergine into 1 cm cubes. Finely chop the onion.
~15 min
Uniform 3 mm slices cook at the same rate, so every potato layer turns tender at once.
Slice the potatoes no thicker than 3 mm so they cook through in the time the top takes to brown.
-
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the aubergine cubes and cook for 6 minutes, turning, until golden and softened. Transfer to a plate.
~6 min
Cooking the aubergine first drives off water and browns it, so it doesn't turn the bake watery.
Searing Get the pan hot and leave the aubergine and beef undisturbed until they release and brown; crowding or stirring too soon steams them grey instead.
-
Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and the onion to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes until soft. Add the beef mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink remains. Stir in the cinnamon, 1 tsp salt and black pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the canned tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes until thick. Return the aubergine and stir.
~14 min
Browning the mince builds flavour, and simmering the tomatoes thickens the mix so the layers hold.
Searing Get the pan hot and leave the aubergine and beef undisturbed until they release and brown; crowding or stirring too soon steams them grey instead.
-
While step 3 cooks
While the beef mixture simmers, warm the 400 ml milk in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and remaining 0.5 tsp salt and cook for 3 minutes, whisking, until the sauce thickly coats the back of a spoon.
~3 min
Whisking flour into warm milk gelatinises the starch, thickening the sauce so it clings to the layers.
Making a roux Whisk the flour into warm milk off the boil and keep whisking; lumps form when flour hits hot liquid without dispersing first.
-
Spread half the beef mixture in a 2 litre baking dish. Layer half the potato slices on top. Repeat with the remaining beef and potatoes. Pour the 400 ml milk sauce evenly over the top.
~5 min
-
Bake for 45 minutes until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the top is golden and bubbling. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes before serving.
~55 min
Standing lets the hot sauce set and reabsorb, so portions slice cleanly instead of running.
If the top browns before the potatoes are tender, cover the dish with foil and bake 10 more minutes.