Chard gratin à la Mornay

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 people, you will need:

• 1 250 g mornay sauce
• 2 1 kg Leaf beet (swiss chard)
• 3 1 shallot
• 4 125 g belly (streaky) bacon
• 5 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 50 g Comté cheese
• 7 Salt
• 8 Pepper
• Total weight: 1,510 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
55 min.	55 min.	1 hour 50 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Prepare, if you haven't already, 250 g mornay sauce. Reserve.
2	Prepare 1 kg Leaf beet (swiss chard), then set aside.
3	Prepare, slice and reserve 1 shallot.
4	Cut 125 g belly (streaky) bacon into small lardons.
5	In a large frying pan over medium heat, toast the lardons.
6	When they have rendered some of their fat and are sufficiently browned, add the chopped shallot, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute without browning.
7	Add the chard chops, season with salt and pepper, then mix...
8	...and cook covered, until just tender, check the seasoning, then transfer to a plate.
9	Return the pan to the heat, pour in 4 tablespoons olive oil and, when hot, add the chard leaves.
10	Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leaves "fall off", i.e. become more tender. Season with salt, then add to the chops.
11	Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F). In a gratin dish, place a layer of Mornay sauce on the bottom.
12	Then half the chard, sides and leaves, covered with a layer of Mornay.
13	Then add the other half of the chard.
14	Then add the rest of the Mornay sauce, and sprinkle with grated 50 g Comté cheese.
15	Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 180°C (360°F).

Remarks

When you make the Mornay sauce, use a smoked cheese if possible, such as smoked raclette, which goes very well with chard.
If this is the case, you can place the remaining cheese crumbs on the gratin before putting it in the oven, for an aesthetic effect (see photo above) and a nice little crunch.
If you don't have the time to make a Mornay sauce, a classic béchamel sauce will work just as well.

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