One of the oldest dishes in the comfort food playbook, the gratin is at once unapologetically rich and refreshingly simple. Take a handful of basic ingredients, suspend them in a creamy sauce and bake everything to perfection under a golden brown crust. Perhaps the best part? Cheese isn’t only welcome in most gratin recipes, it’s practically demanded.

I’ve made versions of this sausage and kale gratin recipe for years, and first wrote about it when I explored the glory of gratins for a Los Angeles Times cooking story several years ago. It was named one of our top recipes the year it was published, and is one I still hear about from readers who have made it a family staple.

The gratin is ready in just over an hour, and is a perfect dish whether you’re fixing a simple weeknight meal for the family or planning dinner for company (you can also make it ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake). Crumbled mild Italian sausage is combined with torn kale, the ingredients tossed with a creamy sauce brightened with the gentle tang of fresh goat cheese. Top the dish with a simple topping of fresh bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, chopped herbs and butter and bake until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. And as delicious as the gratin may be when it’s first served, this dish, like so much comfort food, only gets better with time.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND KALE GRATIN

1 hour, 15 minutes. Serves 6 to 8

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound fresh mild Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 bunches (about 1 pound) kale, stemmed and torn into large pieces

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, divided

1/3 cup flour

2 cups milk

8 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (such as a combination of parsley, oregano and thyme)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large, heavy-bottom sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the sausage and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the wine and cook, scraping any flavorings from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until the wine reduces and is mostly evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium.

4. Stir in the kale, one handful at a time. Cook the kale, stirring it with the sausage, until it begins to wilt and turn a bright green. Continue adding kale by the handful until it is all added to the pan and is just wilted, careful not to overcook. Remove from heat and set the pan aside.

5. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to form a roux. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly to get rid of any lumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking frequently. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes to cook out some of the raw flour flavor.

6. Crumble the goat cheese into the sauce and whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth, then stir in the sausage and kale. Remove from heat.

7. Spoon the mixture into a shallow, 2-quart gratin dish. (The dish can be made up to this point up to a day in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, then top and bake.)

8. In a medium bowl, combine the Parmigiano-Reggiano, bread crumbs and minced fresh herbs. Pour over the 3 tablespoons melted butter and stir until the butter is evenly distributed to form the topping.

9. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the sausage and kale mixture.

10. Bake the gratin until the topping is golden-brown and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. (If the gratin was made ahead of time and refrigerated, allow extra time — 15 to 30 minutes — to give the chilled filling time to properly bake.)

11. Cool slightly before serving.

Note: From Noelle Carter. Adapted from a recipe I created while at the Los Angeles Times.