The only thing we changed was we added cheese. My husband was looking at the recipe and made a comment about how he thought gratin had cheese in it. Apparently (according to dictionary.com) au gratin means "cooked or baked with a topping of either browned bread crumbs and butter or grated cheese, or with both" so we decided to add a bag of cheese.
My oven isn't very big, so I did all of the stove top work in a skillet then dumped it into a 9 x 13 pan. If you don't have an ovenproof skillet or just can't put your skillet in the oven, it worked just fine.
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 - 10 oz package frozen mixed peas and carrots
1/4 lb ham, chopped
3 Tbsp whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
1 - 8 oz bag cheese
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley Kosher salt Fresh ground pepper
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large ovenproof skillet, over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tbsp butter.
- Add the onion, potatoes, frozen peas and carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the ham, flour, and thyme and cook, stirring until combined.
- Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Stir in the milk and simmer until slightly thickened, about three minutes.
- Sprinkle approximately half of the cheese over the ham and vegetable mixture.
- Transfer to the oven and bake until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes).
- Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the panko, parsley, and 1/8 tsp each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the panko is slightly toasted.
- Scatter more cheese over the ham and vegetable mixture then top with the panko and remaining cheese. Let rest five minutes before serving.
