What could be more enticing on a winter evening than a bubbly seasonal gratin. Years ago, the limit of my imagination on gratins was potato and spring onion gratin and gratin dauphinoise but I’ve become so much more adventurous.
I’m almost addicted to gratins, a perfect, comforting kitchen supper, a meal in one dish or of course it makes a perfect accompaniment to a roast chicken, a few lamb chops or a brace of mallard.
We’re smack bang in pumpkin season so how about trying a creamy pumpkin and sage gratin.
All the windowsills here are piled high with pumpkins and squash, we’ve grew about seven varieties this year, some are small, others large enough to make a tureen…varieties include Sweet Dumpling, Speckled Swan, Tromboncino, Uchiki Kuri, Black Futsu and Green Hokkaido.
So many countries have a signature gratin, not just delicious Gratin Dauphinoise from France.
I also love Patatas Gratinadas from Spain, especially typical of the north-eastern region of Aragon. It uses ingredients that are probably already in your pantry, potatoes, pork belly or bacon, cream, cheese and eggs. Use Manchego, a sheep’s milk cheese, now easy to find or Cáis na Tíre made in Co. Tipperary or Sobhriste from The Lost Valley Dairy and Creamery in West Cork – all Irish farmhouse cheeses.
Jansson’s Temptation is a Nordic gratin, a traditional Swedish dish made from potatoes, onions, pickled sprats or anchovies and lots of cream with crispy breadcrumbs on top.
Rather than potato slices, the potatoes are cut into julienne strips, as though making French fries then layered up with other ingredients, it’s particularly associated with the Swedish Julebord at Christmas, but I love it at any time of the year.
Pop over to Greece or Crete and one finds Boureki, with layers of thin, potato slices, zucchini, a rich mix of cheese – feta, myzithra, ricotta, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil.
All gratins are built up in layers. Seasoning carefully between two is crucial, potatoes absorb lots of seasoning, so be generous with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Pop a gratin into the oven, maybe light the fire or cosy up around the stove and tuck in. Enjoy!
Rory O’Connell’s Gratin of Chard and Gruyére
Big and leafy, looking like an exceptionally healthy leaf of spinach and with several colourful varieties, Chard is great. The most well-known variety with its thick white stalk and glossy leaves is sometimes called Swiss chard. The colourful members of the family are the red stemmed Ruby chard and the variety known as Bright Lights or Rainbow chard which has a range of multi coloured stems varying from white, yellow and orange to pink, purple and red. The flavour of the leaf is similar to spinach, but somewhat stronger and earthier in flavour, though the two greens are pretty much interchangeable in any recipe. I like to cut out the stalks or stems from the leaves with a sharp knife to achieve a neat finish. This is another vegetable that needs to be well cooked and there is no flavour or texture advantage to having to chew it when eating it cooked.
This recipe combines the vegetable with gruyére in a gratin and is finished with a crisp bread topping. This dish can be prepared ahead and reheated later. It will make a delicious vegetarian supper dish or to serve with a roast shoulder of lamb or a grilled lamb chop.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
3 litres of water
3 tsp of salt
1kg chard
60g coarse bread sourdough crumbs
3 tbsp olive oil
30g butter
30g flour
350ml whole milk
50ml cream or use 400ml whole milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
160g gruyére cheese, coarsely grated
1 tbsp marjoram leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
Method
Bring the water to a boil and add the salt. Remove the stalks from the chard with a sharp knife. Cut the stalks against the grain in 2cm pieces. Add the stalks to the boiling water and cook at a simmer for about 6 minutes or until nearly tender. Add the leaves to the pot and cook for a further 3 minutes until the leaves and the stalks are both cooked. Strain off all of the water and allow the chard to sit in the strainer to drain off the rest of the water.
Toss the breadcrumbs in the olive oil and spread out onto a baking tray and place in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until toasted and golden. The crumbs tend to cook unevenly, so you will need to move them around on the tray a couple of times during the cooking. When ready, remove from the oven and reserve for later.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and stir to mix. Cook on a gentle heat for about 3 minutes to cook the flour. You have just made a roux, and this mixture will thicken the sauce. Add the milk and cream and bring the mixture to a boil while whisking constantly. The sauce will by now have thickened. Turn the heat down low and allow the sauce to simmer for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Add the drained chard to the sauce with 110g of the grated gruyére and the chopped marjoram and mix gently but thoroughly. Taste again and correct seasoning.
Place the mixture in an ovenproof gratin dish and sprinkle on the remaining gruyére and finally the roasted breadcrumbs.
The gratin can be put aside for later or reheated now in a moderate oven, 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for about 15 to 20 minutes until bubbling and golden. If you are reheating it from cold, it will take 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Gratin with Sage and Parmesan
This can be a delicious vegetarian main course, or a substantial side dish. Cook it under a roast to catch the delicious juices. Any winter squash would work instead of pumpkin, but they vary in texture, so adjust cooking times. Test with the tip of a knife before pouring over the cream.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1kg pumpkin or winter squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into large chunks
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 tsp roughly chopped sage or fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150ml cream
50g Parmesan, grated
Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.
Method
In a large gratin dish, toss the pumpkin with the olive oil, garlic and sage leaves. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes or until soft.
Remove the dish of pumpkin from the oven.
Increase the oven heat to 220°C/Gas Mark 7.
Drizzle the cream over the top, scatter generously with the grated cheese. Return to the oven for 20 minutes until bubbling and golden. Serve on its own or with roast lamb, beef or venison.
Jansson’s Temptation
*Adapted from a recipe from Nigella Lawson
This is an indispensable part of Christmas celebrations in Sweden.
If you can’t get hold of ansjovis (sprats), you can replace them by chopping up a couple of pickled herrings.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
2 large onions (approx. 400g)
4 tbsp butter plus more for greasing
2 x 125g tins of Swedish ansjovis (sprats)
Maldon sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
1¼ kg potatoes
300ml full fat milk
300ml cream
2-3 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional)
Method
Peel the onions and slice into fine half-moons and melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onions to the pan, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of sea salt flakes (or ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt) and stir for a few minutes over medium-high heat. Once they start to lose their raw look, turn the heat down to low and cook very gently for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and stir regularly: they should be soft and pale gold. If you think they are beginning to catch, you can sprinkle a very little water into the pan or simply add more butter. Once they’re ready, use a bendy spatula to scrape them and their buttery juices into a bowl to stop them burning in the hot pan.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Butter a gratin dish (34 x 20 x 6cm).
Peel the potatoes, cut them into narrow strips rather like French fries, then mound them into three roughly equal piles.
Put a third of the potatoes into the bottom of the buttered dish. Season with 1 teaspoon of sea salt flakes (or ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt) and a good grinding of pepper.
Spread half the soft onions over the potato strips, followed by one tin of ansjovis; it is up to you whether you add the liquid in the tin or not.
And now layer up again: so, the second third of potatoes, salt and pepper as before, followed by the rest of the onions and the second tin of ansjovis.
Top with the final third of potatoes, then mix together the milk and cream in a jug and pour it over, although it won’t cover the potatoes completely. Push any that are poking up down into the creamy milk, just so that they’re lightly covered, but don’t worry if they pop up again.
Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs if using and dot over the remaining tablespoon of butter, then bake in the oven for 1 hour, making sure you check at 45 minutes; push a fork in, and if it meets with no resistance, the potatoes are cooked. They’ll certainly be golden on top, but it’s essential they’re soft underneath.
The gratin will stand for a while until needed, and tastes just as good, if not better, warm rather than hot. Leftovers are easily reheated for repeated rapture. For many Swedes and those of us who are not Swedish – it is these reheated leftovers that are the real Christmas treat.