Summer Squash Gratin

Hands on time: 20 minutes  Total time: 50 minutes  Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a medium baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Set aside.
Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the parsley, thyme and peppercorns. Cover and set aside to steep.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the green onions and squash and zucchini; season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, and cook until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Place the mixture in a colander to drain.
Reduce heat to medium. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet used to cook the squash. Add the flour, and stir until foamy. Strain the heated milk into the butter-flour combination, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Blend in the cheese. Blend a little bit of the sauce into the beaten eggs. Then add the egg mixture back to the sauce. Add a pinch of cayenne and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine the panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a small bowl. Set aside.
Add the well-drained squash mixture to the sauce and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with the panko-cheese mixture. Transfer to oven, and bake until bubbly and set, about 30 minutes. If necessary, for the last few minutes, broil until the topping is a rich golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.