Gratin of Squash, Peppers, and Corn with a Fontina Crust



I've had notes to make this recipe for quite awhile, but haven't done it, until today. And after tasting it, you can bet this will be made more frequently. This has plenty of great vegetables in it, and the cheese sauce and fontina crust round it out to a perfect vegetarian meal. Although the recipe looks a bit fiddly, I can assure you it's well worth it, and only took about 25 minutes from start to oven.

Sauce
2 1/2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 c soymilk (room temp)
2/4 c cheese (I used a fontina and asiago mix, but I'm sure a lovely sharp chedder would hit it off as well)
1 tsp thyme
scant 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Vegetables
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 pound yellow squash, cut into 1/2" rounds
1 pound green squash, cut into 1/2" rounds
1 c diced onion
1 c diced bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c frozen corn, thawed (I used a white shoepeg)
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Topping
1 1/2 c breadcrumbs
1/2 c grated cheese
1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted



Sauce - melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk well, 1 minute. Whisk in milk, and whisk until boils, thickens, and is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and add remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Vegetables - Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add half of the squash, and saute 4 minutes, until tender, yet still crisp. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining squash. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan and saute onion, peppers, and garlic. Saute 7 minutes, until tender. Stir in corn and rosemary. Transfer to bowl with squash. Mix in cheese sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread out in large baking dish. Dot with butter.
Topping - melt butter. Add cheese and breadcrumbs and mix well. Spread out on top of gratin.
Bake in 400 degree oven 20-25 minutes, until top is golden and bubbly.
Serve and enjoy!