Brussels sprout and potato casserole with Gorgonzola and pear sauce and crispy filo and hazelnut topping

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 500 g potatoes, mainly waxy
• 400 g Brussels sprouts
• 1 small pear(s), fully ripe
• 1 m.-large onion(s), red
• 75 g Gorgonzola, creamy
• 25 g hazelnuts, chopped
• 1 pack of filo pastry, from the refrigerated section, approx. 8 large sheets
• 150 ml vegetable stock
• 150 ml cream
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp table horseradish
• 1 tsp, leveled flour
• 1 tsp raw cane sugar
• 2 tsp thyme, dried
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 2 pinches of chili flakes
• 50 g butter
• e.g. salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

vegetarian

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Remove the woody stem and outer leaves from the Brussels sprouts, then cut a cross into the remaining stem. Wash the potatoes and Brussels sprouts and keep them separate. Peel the ripe, soft pear, quarter it, and remove the core. Cut the pear into small pieces. Peel the onion and cut it into strips. Dice the Gorgonzola. Place a baking dish, open-side down, on a sheet of filo pastry measuring approximately 30 x 40 cm and cut around the dish with a knife. Use the cut-out sheet as a template and divide the large sheets to fit the dish. Depending on the size of the baking dish and the number of filo pastry sheets, you will need more or fewer sheets. In the end, you should have about 8 sheets cut to fit the baking dish. Cook the Brussels sprouts in the vegetable broth for about 5 minutes over medium heat with the lid closed. Then add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes and Brussels sprouts, reserving the broth. Add the Brussels sprouts and potatoes to the casserole dish. Meanwhile, melt the butter in another saucepan. Pour about 3/4 of the melted butter into a small bowl and set aside. Heat the remaining butter in the pan until foamy, then sauté the onions for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Sprinkle the onions with the flour, stir briefly, and then deglaze with the reserved vegetable broth. Add the thyme, brown sugar, white wine vinegar, and chili flakes. Pour in the cream and heat through. Add the Gorgonzola cheese one at a time, stirring constantly until melted. Bring everything to a boil and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Towards the end, add the pear pieces and season with horseradish, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour the sauce over the potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Shake the casserole dish slightly horizontally so that the cabbage and potatoes are evenly distributed in the dish. Place the first four trimmed sheets of filo pastry on top of the mixture, using a brush to lightly brush the sheets with melted butter after placing them on the dish. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top and layer the remaining filo sheets on top, again lightly brushing each one with butter. Finally, spread the remaining butter on the last sheet. To prevent the filo sheets from overhanging, press them slightly into the sides of the dish. Bake the casserole in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes on the middle rack, until the filo pastry is nicely browned and crispy. Tip: If necessary, cook larger Brussels sprouts a little longer beforehand, but only cook the potatoes for the last five minutes so that they don’t become too soft in the casserole.