Lettuce Corn Leek Gratin

The English language has some truly horrendous sounding words.  Take for instance, the word "hoist," "or its stunningly appalling relative, "moist." Say those words aloud.  Does one not now feel as though dirt has accumulated on the skin and then drowned in layer of cooking oil?  It is self-evident that the combination of o-i-s-t is awful. Simply awful.

Other dreadful words include:
gibbous
oil
glue
fork
foyer
turkey

On the other hand, there are words that are absolutely glorious to say.  Like "gratin."  Gratin is a wonderful word to say.  It sounds so primal, so earthy.  I adore the way that "gr" sound is pushed from your mouth, as though you are blowing a bubble of happiness into the air.  Maybe that is exactly what it is.  Happiness, if one transforms the sonic expression into a dish to be devoured.

I must confess, I'm still not quite sure what exactly a gratin is. I think it is cheesy and goes in the oven?  If so, then this is a gratin.  If indeed that is not the requirement for being a gratin, then lets just use the word because I like it.

For this gratin, I took a head of lettuce, chopped up the leaves, added sliced leeks and frozen corn, and covered them in a cheesy, creamy sauce spiked with just a bit of horseradish and Dijon mustard.  Panko breadcrumbs seasoned with lemon zest litter the top.  A dish that tastes as good as it sounds.

Ingredients
1 head butter lettuce, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 leek, , washed and sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2-2 cups grated cheddar
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
kosher salt
freshly ground black

1/2-1 cup panko
1 teaspoon lemon zest
sprinkle kosher salt

Instructions
Heat oven to 375.  In large baking dish (I used my dutch oven), place chopped lettuce, corn, leek, garlic.  Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle salt and pepper.  In a large bowl, whisk together cream, broth, cheddar, horseradish, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.  Pour the cheesy, creamy liquid over the lettuce mixture.  Sprinkle top with panko and use microplane to grate lemon zest over top.

Bake until top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly and cheese is melted - about 30-45 minutes.