Today I planned our first Thanksgiving feast and, of course, it will be vegetable-centric. There will be a bird on the table, but other than that, I’m throwing in some great plant-based beauties such as celeriac gratin (celery root in the USA), sweet potato pie, stuffed delicata squash and of course, brussels sprouts.

In the lead up to holiday season, I am sharing many new vegetable-based recipes to add to your festive table. Last week, it was a glorious maple-mustard brussels sprout salad (which is on the menu for the opening day of my Sunday-only Brooklyn popup, starting this weekend 22 November). This week, it is brussels sprouts again, baked in a gratin. This is a super simple dish, packed with flavour. To add character and depth of flavour, spice up the cream mixture with your favourite holiday spices and herbs – I used nutmeg, bay, cinnamon, thyme and lemon zest, but you could also use fennel seeds, rosemary, oregano, cloves or even star anise.

Brussels sprout Gratin

I used baby Brussels sprouts so I left them whole, but if you have large ones, halve them. If you prefer, you can also slice up your sprouts.

Gluten free

Serves 4

2 bay leaves
200ml (6.7 fl oz) heavy cream
60ml (1/4 cup) liquid vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 cinnamon stick
good grate of fresh nutmeg (or ¼ tsp ground nutmeg)
Zest of half lemon
500g (17.6 oz) brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 cup grated gruyere
3-4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 190˚C / 375 ˚F. In a heavy base pot, add the bay leaves, cream, stock, garlic, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, lemon zest. Stir to combine and season well with salt and pepper. Add the brussels sprouts to the cream mixture.

Combine the rest of the gruyere with the thyme leaves.

Heat the cream and sprouts on medium high heat until the mixture comes to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer gently for 5-6 minutes. Take off the heat and add half the grated parmesan (half cup) and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a gratin dish, removing the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Sprinkle over the gruyere-thyme mix and back in the hot oven for 20 minutes, or until the mixture is golden and bubbling. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Brussels sprout gratin