I’ve been raring to make tetrazzini with the delicious leftover smoked turkey. But my wife doesn’t like pasta. I was thinking of mixing the cream sauce part with pieces of potato and cauliflower, which should handle the creaminess well, but I’m wondering if I should cook or par-cook the veg before the bake. Seems like 40 minutes in the oven ought to cook them just fine, but what do others think? Should I slice them on a mandoline and layer, kind of like a gratin?
If you are leaving them in chunks, pre-cook. If you are mandolining them, raw is okay.
I made gratin Savoyard last night…40 minutes at 425 degrees left the mandolined potatoes still slightly hard, and they were baking in chicken stock. If you’re baking in a thicker (creamy) sauce, give it a little more time.
Thanks Ike!
Agree with Ike. See if your wife likes gnocchi as an alternative to regular pasta. I like gnocchi with alla panna sauce.
For the tiny handful of people who care:
I made the Epicurious tetrazzini recipe. Sliced one large russet potato 1/8" thick and grated a 10-oz package of trimmed cauliflower. Spread a bit of the tetrazzini on the bottom of a 10x10x3 baking pan, then a single layer of potatoes, then 1/2 the cauli, half the remaining tetrazzini mix, then remaining potatoes, remaining cauli, remaining tetra mix. The potatoes were done at 40 minutes/425, but I gave it an extra ten because I added the bread crumbs late and they needed to brown; the potatoes were well cooked but not totally mushy. Big hit with the family.
Thanks for posting the results. I like pasta in Tetrazzini, but am always open to try something different. I like cauli. I would try this.