Brussels Sprout Gratin with streaky bacon

To make this recipe you will need:

• 500g thinly sliced Brussel sprouts
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 3 rashers of Primrose Herd smoked streaky bacon
• 100g Davidstow Mature cheddar cheese (use leftover cheese here too, parmesan, gruyere or anything meltable work just as well)
• 1 mug of breadcrumbs (I used stale bread, blitzed in my food processor but you could use shop bought natural breadcrumbs)
• ¾ pint full-fat milk
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ of a whole grated nutmeg
• 1 leek, trimmed and diced (don’t use the harder green ends, keep those for putting underneath the meat to roast, adds great flavour for the gravy)
• 2 teaspoons of dried Sage

And here’s how to do it…

• Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
• In an oven-proof pan, crisp the bacon on a medium heat. (this takes up to ten minutes).
• Once crispy, remove the bacon and set it aside, keeping the bacon fat in the pan.
• Add the leek and brussels sprouts to the pan with the bacon fat. Stir them into the fat and season with salt and pepper.
• Place the pan in the hot oven and cook for 5 minutes until the sprouts are slightly roasted.
• Remove the pan from the oven and add the garlic.
• Return the pan to the stovetop on low heat and add the flour. Stir the mixture together.
• Gradually add the milk to the pan while stirring continuously.
• Grate in the nutmeg and roughly three-quarters of the cheddar cheese, reserving some for topping.
• Chop the crispy bacon into small pieces and mix it with the breadcrumbs and dried sage.
• Add the remaining grated cheese and combine.
• Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of the gratin. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with more salt and pepper.
• Place the pan back in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius (428 degrees Fahrenheit) until the gratin is golden and bubbling.
• Serve the Brussels sprout gratin alongside your christmas Turkey, honey-glazed carrots, and crispy roast potatoes.