Here's a fun party trick: Ask your friends to guess how many pounds of greens went into this supremely cheesy gratin inspired by a recipe from chef Renee Erickson. Three huge bunches of kale (and/or chard) get drowned in garlic- and rosemary-infused cream, then blanketed in cheddar cheese and panko and sent into a hot oven, where they sizzle and shrink. The cream turns into a rich sauce and the cheese gets bubbly-brown; the greens towards the top burnish (kale chips!) but those underneath stay silky-soft. So. Many. Textures! You'll want to use your largest oven-safe skillet for this recipe. But don't worry: If you don't have a skillet that's at least 10" (and preferably 12"), you can wilt down the greens in whatever skillet you do have, then transfer them an oven-safe baking dish and proceed with the recipe.
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What you’ll need
Measuring Spoons
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Measuring Cups
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Chef's Knife
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Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Medium Saucepan
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Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Large Bowl
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Microplane
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Blender
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Large Skillet
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Rimmed Baking Sheet
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Small Bowl
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Recipe information
Yield
6–8 servings
Ingredients
1
5
2
1
1½
½
4
1
¼
6
½
1
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. First, prep the cream sauce: Peel and quarter 1 medium onion. Smash 4 garlic cloves and unpeel. Place onion and garlic in a medium saucepan. Pour in 2 cups heavy cream and stir in 1 rosemary sprig, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion and garlic are very soft, 15–20 minutes.
Step 2
While cream cooks, remove ribs from 4 medium bunches of Tuscan kale. Tear leaves into big pieces and wash. It’s okay if some water still clings to the leaves—this will help them wilt later. If you don’t have a bowl big enough to hold all of your greens, pile them on a baking sheet instead.
Step 3
When cream is ready, pluck out rosemary sprig and discard. Finely grate zest of ½ lemon into cream and stir in ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
Step 4
Heat a large (as large as possible—12" is the goal) ovenproof skillet over medium. Add about one-quarter of greens, cover skillet (use a baking sheet if you don’t have a lid), and cook until wilted, 3–4 minutes. Scoot wilted greens to one side of pan. Add another quarter of greens, cover pan, and cook to wilt, 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat and place skillet on a rimmed baking sheet.
Step 5
Prep the toppings: Cut 6 oz. high-quality sharp cheddar cheese into ¼"-thick slices (you’ll have about 1½ cups). Place ½ cup panko to a small bowl and finely grate in zest of ½ lemon and remaining 1 garlic clove. Add 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
Step 6
Pile remaining greens on top of wilted kale, pressing down to compact as needed. This will look BANANAS, but the greens will shrink dramatically in the oven. Carefully pour cream mixture over. It’s okay if it drips a little—that’s why it’s on a baking sheet. Break cheese slices into large crumbles and evenly distribute over top. Sprinkle panko mixture over.
Step 7
Bake gratin until cheese is browned and bubbling and panko is toasted, 50–55 minutes.
Step 8
Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Try not to eat the whole thing yourself!
How would you rate Greens Gratin With All the Cheese?
Leave a Review
Reviews (28)
Back to TopI made this as an entree for a vegetarian and it was so tasty everyone enjoyed it. It was surprisingly hearty and satisfying.
Juliet A
Dumfries VA
6/4/2021
Fantastic! I didn't blend the sauce (we like the onion bits) and like others on here I grated the cheese on top and it was perfect. I did a half portion and baked it for half an hour. It was lovely and popular even with the people who don't love kale that much! I will definitely be making this again :) Thank you!
Hannah S
Zürich, Switzerland
12/17/2020
I did a half batch since my cast iron is only 8" and it still turned out great (plus I was able to get away with baking for just 30ish min at 400 but not sure if that would translate to a full batch of the recipe). The crust/cheese/cream is great but the kale flavor still punches through. This isn't a bad thing but if you were hoping to make this with the goal of hiding the flavor of kale I'd add seasonings outside of just the salt, pepper, red pepper, and lemon. I added a fairly significant amount of paprika and garlic powder and got a pretty good balance of kale-to-topping-to-seasoning ratio for my taste. Best part about greens is they take on so much flavor to hard to see things like jerk or adobo seasoning not working here as well. All in all a great recipe though!
Nikhil D
Seattle, WA
11/23/2020
Let’s me start by saying I so wanted to love this recipe But even with all the wonderful flavors the kale is still so overpowering so if kale is not your absolute favorite green stay away. I used Gruyere added some melted butter to panko it looked beautiful but sadly all kale and nothing else. I have 3 stars because I do think it was a great effort on a different au gratin
Seeny30
Chicago
9/14/2020
This was a great recipe. Also a hit with 3 teens age 16,17,18! I might tweak this with a little less cheese and grate it to spread the flavor more evenly. Great sense of accomplishment for this divorced Dad who is trying to keep his kids centered around the family dinner table.
Anonymous
Point Lookout, NY
4/18/2020
This recipe is a really great framework to stuff a ton of greens into a comforting meal, or eating on its own with good crusty bread as I've mostly done. I agree with some other reviewers that I think two big tweaks to the assembly would make a better experience: shredding the cheddar instead of dropping it in chunks (it never really melts into the rest of the dish as-is, so every now and then I take a big bite of mostly solid cheddar) or using a meltier cheese in substitution; and in my opinion, tearing the leaves into slightly smaller pieces. The recipe just says 'large' which is subjective, and keep in mind that the leaves do shrink when cooked down but they are not bite-through friendly. (I wound up with big strips of leaves hanging out of my mouth at times.) The cream sauce -- I went ahead and doubled up the rosemary and added some thyme, and the flavor is out of this world. And the breadcrumb topping is killer! I cooked mine in a wide dutch oven and it was great.
Anonymous
Houston, TX
1/15/2020
I cannot explain how much I loved this!! What better way to eat tons of greens than to smother them with cheese?! I loved the flavors of this dish as well as the simplicity of the recipe. Makes me feel fancy.
Justine Nunez
Elmhurst, IL
1/5/2020