Trim and clean the Brussels sprouts. Cut them in half. Rinse the sprouts thoroughly under cold running tap water.

Place a large pan of salted water over medium heat until boiling. Then add the sliced sprouts.

Turn the heat off immediately. Blanch the sprouts for about 4 minutes in the hot water. Then immediately strain pour the sprouts and cool them under cold running tap water to stop the cooking process. This will also keep them bright green. Let them cool for now.

In the meantime grill or fry the bacon until crisp and slice it up.

Pour the cooled sprouts in a large baking dish. Also add the chopped bacon. Season with a good dash of pepper, salt and nutmeg.

Add the butter to a saucepan and place it over medium heat.

Whisk well into a dry crumble. Gradually add the lukewarm milk little by little. Keep stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

The sauce will start to thicken after a few minutes. Add the grated cheese. Cook for another 2 minutes. Check the seasoning and add pepper, salt or nutmeg to taste. Then take the bechamel cheese sauce off the heat and pour it over the sprouts and bacon in the dish. Sprinkle with extra grated cheese if you like.

Bake the sprouts gratin in a preheated oven at 256°F (180°C) for 20 minutes or until the top starts to brown a little. Remove the dish from the oven and serve warm.