Ham and Vegetable Gratin with Celeriac Mash

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 celeriac head (450g)

half an onion (I use 50g frozen)

1 leek (100g)

Your choice of filling vegetables - I used

   1 courgette, chopped into bite sized pieces (200g)

   80g kalettes, roughly chopped

   200g broccoli spears

30g butter

90g ham, shredded

20g panko breadcrumbs

20g reduced fat grated cheddar

black pepper, nutmeg, paprika

250ml milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)

8g arrowroot powder or kudzu

oil

Nutrition Info (per serving)

Calories: 301

Protein : 15g

Carbohydrate: 31g

Fat: 14g

Dietary Fibre: 6.5g

Method

1. Wash and roughly peel the celeriac.  Chop into large pieces and microwave in a covered container with a little water for 7 minutes.
2. Mash the cooked celeriac with the butter.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
4. Heat 1tsp oil in a frying pan to medium hot and fry the onion and leeks for about 10 minutes.
5. Microwave the kalettes, and courgette for 3 minutes in a covered container without water.
6. Microwave the broccoli spears for 2 minutes in a covered container with a little water.
7. Drain all the vegetables and put in an oven proof container.
8. Add the ham.
9. From the 250ml milk, measure out approximately 50ml into a small bowl.  Stir in the arrowroot/kudzu and mix well.
10. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan with a good sprinkling of paprika and nutmeg.  When the milk is hot, pour in the arrowroot/kudzu mix, stirring thoroughly.  The mixture will thicken. Add more seasoning to taste.
11. Mix the sauce into the vegetables and ham, cover with the celeriac mash, and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and cheese.  Finish with a good grating of black or rainbow pepper.
12. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until golden brown.