All the Gratins

These gratin dishes were originally put together to use the residual heat from the baker’s oven for the family Sunday meal, prepared and left with the baker to be cooked  in the cooling bread oven and be collected after church and taken home to eat.

 

These days we are used to strong flavours, but please don’t be tempted to add more herbs, garlic or stock. The way these dishes are put together makes them pack beautiful flavour. It’s tempting to tweak recipes, but try and resist.

You can make all the potato elements of these gratins into vegetarian or vegan dishes by substituting oil and plant milk.

The recipes are for a group of 6-8, using a large quantity of potatoes - I'll be working on versions for smaller meals and will post them in a while.

 

This recipe collection was saved by my parents, cut out from a magazine and kept, despite them having multiple cookbooks and years of experience. It's a high recommendation.

Gigot boulangere – roast leg of lamb on potatoes

 

For 6-8 people

cooking time 4h+

 

Ingredients

One leg of lamb 1.75-2kg

2.5kg/5½lb potatoes

100g butter

sprigs of thyme, bay leaves

2 cloves of garlic

pepper and salt

an oven dish as long as the leg of lamb, and around as deep as your finger

 

Method

set the oven to warm 6 (400 or 200) at least 15 minutes in advance

Lamb

 

The lamb can be prepared in advance but should be at room temperature when you start to prepare the meal

• Peel the garlic cloves, cut into long slivers and with a sharp knife puncture the leg deep into the meat and push the slivers in, repeat until you’ve used all the garlic
• Mash half the butter with pepper and salt, then slather over the leg of lamb and set aside.

 Potatoes

• peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices then spread them out in the oven dish in layers
• between each layer put a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf and repeat until the potatoes are all in the dish
• add enough water in the dish to reach the top of the potatoes, sprinkle with pepper and salt and add half the butter
• set the potatoes to cook in the oven for around two hours – check them after 20m, and once they are boiling turn the heat down to 5/375/190. the potatoes  should be completely cooked before you add the lamb, but still be pale
• take the cooked potatoes out and put the buttered, seasoned, garlic studded leg of lamb onto them
• turn the oven to its highest setting
• cook the lamb for 15m per lb/500g to be pink/a point or 20m per lb/500g to be cooked through
• check the lamb every 20m, turning it if it’s very coloured, there is no need to baste it

Once cooked rest the lamb 15 minutes, when carving save the jus to pour over the cooked potatoes

 

Roti de porc boulangere – roast pork on potatoes

 

For 6-8 people

Cooking time 3h+

Ingredients

1.8kg/4lb rack or loin of pork

2.5kg/5½lb of potatoes

60g butter

thym, bay leaves

nutmeg

pepper and salt

 

Method

set the oven to warm 6 (400 or 200) at least 15 minutes in advance

 

prepare the pork by rubbing mashing the pepper and salt into the butter and rubbing it all over the meat

 

• peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices then spread them out in the oven dish in layers
• between each layer grate a little nutmeg, crumble thyme and break up a bay leaf and repeat until the potatoes are all in the dish
• add enough water in the dish to reach the top of the potatoes, sprinkle with pepper and salt and add half the butter
• set the potatoes to cook in the oven for an hour
• adding water to bring it up to the top layer of the potatoes if needed before sitting the pork onto the potatoes

• the pork needs to cook through, in a low oven, allow 22-28m per lb/500g, so turn the oven to 2/300/150 ie around 1¾h depending on the thickness of the joint, then turn off the oven leaving the dish inside for 5-10m
• at this point the liquid in the potatoes will be almost completely gone
• put the dish on the table and carve the pork, pouring any juices into the potato gratin

 

Pommes boulangere – potato gratin or layered baked potatoes

 

For 6-8 people

cooking time around 2h

 

Ingredients

2kg/5lb potatoes

10 onions – medium sized

60g/4 tbsp of butter

3 tbsp oil

salt and pepper

nutmeg

 

Method

roughly chop the peeled onions and cook in a pan on a gentle heat with the oil and half the butter, stirring, making sure they stay pale. Cook until transparent.

 

Set the oven to warm mark 6/400/200 at least 15 minutes in advance

 

peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices then spread them out in the oven dish in layers

between each layer grate a little nutmeg and add some cooked onion mixture and repeat until the potatoes are all in the dish

add enough water in the dish to reach the top of the potatoes, sprinkle with pepper and salt and add the rest of the butter and the cooking fat from the onion pan

set the potatoes to cook in the oven for an hour then turn the oven up to its maximum temperature and cook another 30m

 

This dish goes well with any roast meat, ham, dried or cooked sausages

 

Gratin Dauphinois – Creamy baked potato gratin

 

This richer version of gratin potatoes goes best with plainer roasts, boiled meats or plain fish dishes. It is delicious, but has a richness of a savoury pudding, and that’s why the quantity of potatoes is reduced. It’s delicious as a main dish and you can make it with plant milk to serve a vegan dish – don’t use coconut oil, it makes it too dessert-y.

 

Some versions of this dish include egg and even cheese, which creates something very like a potato version of macaroni cheese, tipping it over into excess stodge, don’t do it.

 

cooking time 1.5h+

For 6-8 people

 

Ingredients

2kg/5lb potatoes

four cloves of garlic

½ litre/1 pint warmed milk

6 tbsps cream or crème fraiche

 

Method

rub a peeled clove of garlic around a large deep gratin dish, and crush the remaining garlic into a paste

peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices then spread half the potatoes into layers in the oven dish

season with pepper and salt, sprinkling of crumbled thyme and half the crushed garlic

add more layers until the potatoes are all in the dish

mix the milk and cream and pour over the potatoes, adding enough water in the dish if needed to reach the top of the potatoes – leave enough room above the layered potatoes so that when the milk boils it stays inside the dish

cook for 1½h or until the milk has boiled away and the potatoes are cooked through

 

Serve with plain meat or fish and lightly cooked vegetables

Beetroot leaf soup

We love beetroot, especially when it's been freshly cooked at home.

Not so long ago I was standing on a platform at Liverpool Street station, metropolitan line. On my way home from a little jaunt. Something was nagging at me, but then that's what tube travel used to be like - right now it seems a far off dream of course. I got to Dollis Hill and it came to me. An hour or so before I'd run out of the house leaving a pot of beetroot cooking on the stove, in our newly built kitchen. I called a neighbour friend who keeps our key for emergencies and went around straight away to check and turn it off. Everything was fine, although the house smelled like I'd been smoking food. Which I had. The beetroot were charred shrivelled remains, having been left to boil dry on a very low heat with a lid on the pan. They were a also inedible, although another slightly less charred edition tasted great, kinda chipotle style, smoke dried ripe beetroot. 

Undaunted I am still cooking beetroot, and admiring the pan in question. It was an inherited pentole pan, you can see it in the pictures below. It's the best pan I have for beetroot. Like many things of value it has a heavy bottom.

Time was you bought beetroot fresh cooked off a market stall, the stall holder had a gas burner and was cooking it in large batches on the spot. I suppose in the cold weather it kept them warm. Now beetroot are often sold with all their greenery, and loath to bin it, I've been cooking it. I've made beet leaf tarts and lately beet leaf soup.



I took the tops off the fresh beetroot, gave them a wash and popped them into a pot with water, veg stock. I boiled them for about 20 minutes, then I got the stick blender out and pureed the lot.

Beetroot top soup, very tasty.

Voila. A little bit of greek yoghurt and some pepper to stir through

Gerry Long's mashed potatoes - purée to some

Very yummy Long family mash - grace à mon père

The family mash is ever popular, and I am making a first go writing up the recipe here. Mostly it's done by feel, while you beat the potatoes hard with a fork, trying to fluff and crush at the same time, you start to feel when it's ready. I somehow managed to get the outline instructions from my father - mash was one of the few dishes he made from beginning to end.

The ingredients that combine to make the magic are:

potatoes
butter or margarine
pepper and salt
nutmeg

Some people favour particular varieties of potato, but I won't pretend that I do, because mostly I just use what is hanging around. In our house you need about three potatoes about the size of a computer mouse per person, unless Kitty and Olivia are in, in which case you need four per person.

Once you get a taste for this mash you may find you want a larger quantity. Have a pint of milk ready and make sure you've got at least a serving spoonful of butter or marg.

Instructions

• Peel the potatoes.
• Cook them in salted water until very well done - a fork stuck into one will make it fall apart easily.
• Drain the potatoes and add the butter and some of the milk, a hearty pinch of salt and some ground black pepper. 
• Mash with a large fork. Beat those potatoes and keep beating.
• Add a pinch of nutmeg - I use freshly grated. Don't overdo it.
• Beat a bit more, taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to.
• Add more milk if the potatoes are stiff - it should be smooth but not at all runny. 

I've been given a potato masher that's a bit like a miniature pogo stick, with springs and everything. I do use it, but I always end up using a fork afterwards. Just to make sure - and also because I feel a bit like I'm being unfaithful to the source implement. The fork is the magic wand of mash.

I don't really get those rice masher things either.

I like to pile the mash into a bowl and use the fork to give it lots of texture, my favourite is a volcano shape. Assuming you've used an oven proof dish you can put it in the oven to get a crust,

That's it.

The proof of the pudding, as the saying goes, is in the eating. And the proof of the recipe is in the cooking. Two proofs at once in this case, as Kitty followed the recipe and shared it with friends. She is the barometer for authentic Gerry Long mash, her friends are the barometer for v yummy, apparently.

Lemon poppy seed cake

Lemon poppy seed cake

Lemon cake, when it has an acid bite, is a thing of great joy, all zingy pleasure as it hits your tongue, with a follow through of soft sweet cakiness. Adding beautiful grey blue poppy seeds lends an additional crunch and a light shade of nuttiness. It’s true that poppy seeds are tiny, hellish if spilled and they get stuck in your teeth. They aren’t something that most of us buy as a routine, but they are a small pleasure that is worth indulging from time to time.

On top of having more juice in than any other recipe I’ve found, this cake gets additional tang from a syrup that you pour over the cake when it is fresh out of the oven. I pour the syrup on to the bottom of the cake while it’s still in the tin, let it cool for a while and pour the syrup on to the top.  I find there is enough syrup left over to mix into crème fraiche, if you fancy it, which I do.

So when you read the recipe you may think it’s a bit fiddly, and it is, but only a little bit. This cake is a treat and the lemon cakiness peppered with the poppy seeds is lovely to look at as well as eat. So a little extra work pays off.

I’m going to try this with orange juice soon.

Photos follow.

RECIPE

Ingredients

• ·         50g (1/3 cup) poppy seeds
• ·         60ml (¼ cup) milk
• ·         185g butter
• ·         1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• ·         220g (1 cup) caster sugar
• ·         3 eggs
• ·         225g (1 ½ cups self-raising flour
• ·         60g (½ cup) plain flour
• ·         60g (½ cup) ground almonds
• ·         125ml (½ cup) lemon juice

o   For the syrup

o   220g (1 cup) caster sugar

o   160ml (2/3 cup) lemon juice

o   80ml (1/3 cup) water

Method

• ·         Set the oven to Gas Mark 4/ 350F/ 180C/160C fan-assisted
• ·         Grease 23cm cake tin thoroughly
• ·         Mix poppy seeds and milk and set aside
• ·         Beat the butter, rind and sugar together until light and fluffy
• ·         Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure they are combined
• ·         Add the dry ingredients and mix together
• ·         Add the juice and the poppy seed mixture
• ·         Spread into the greased tin
• ·         Bake for about 55m or until a skewer inserted comes out clean

o   For the syrup

o   Put the sugar, juice and water into a small pan on a low heat without boiling, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved

o   Once the sugar has dissolved,  bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered without stirring for two minutes

Let the cake stand for about five minutes,  then stab gently here and there with a skewer, and spoon the syrup about a third of the syrup over while the cake is in the tin. Let the cake stand another five minutes and then turn it out carefully onto a rack set over a large plate or tray, then spoon over the rest of the syrup. Scoop up the syrup that isn’t absorbed and set it aside if you want to use it later. Let the cake cool completely before putting it onto a serving plate.

flattened chicken or cooking as a dangerous sport

Why cook a flattened chicken? Well, it cooks much quicker than an unflattened one for starters. The meat is marinaded for at least two hours - but don't be put off, because the prep is straightforward and can be done the night before. Oh and it tastes delicious.

This delicious dish doesn't try to be elegant. The cooked flattened bird is slightly unwieldy and you might hesitate how to serve it - I recommend putting it into the middle of the table and letting everyone tear into it at will. It's tender enough to make it easy to get off the bone - the one I cooked on Sunday was picked clean.

Recipe

Ingredients
1 chicken
1 lemon
6 tablespoons of olive oil
handful of peppercorns
heaped teaspoonful of salt

Method
Put the chicken breast side down and use a very sharp knife or a pair of chicken shears to cut from the neck cavity right down to the tail. Turn the bird over and snip or cut the skin between the legs and wings and the breast. Lean on the legs or wings the set them open away from the breast, giving a butterfly shape. Lean on the breast bone to help flatten the bird.

Now comes the bit that can be as dangerous or not as you like. The traditional approach is to beat the chicken with a meat mallet, to tenderise the meat and flatten it out. I place the chicken on a strong tray, I put the tray on the floor, place a large strong board on top of it and I jump on it. NOTICE Please take care - it's slippery! You can just stand on the tray and wriggle, it is still slippery. You end up with a much flatter bird.

Put the bird in a large pot or roasting tin. Crush the peppercorns lightly - under the side of a broad bladed knife or using a pestle and mortar. Sprinkle crushed peppercorns and salt over the chicken, follow with the juice from one lemon and the olive oil. Rub the mixture all over the bird and leave, turning and basting every now and then. Leave for at least two hours.

Cook for 20m on a barbecue or under a pre-heated hot grill, turning from time to time and basting with the marinade.

Cooking the chicken on a barbeque gives a wonderful smoky taste. Grilling it gives a cleaner flavour. The simple marinade of lemon, olive oil, pepper and salt gives a lovely tang. In the summer it goes wonderfully with a pasta or rice salad, in the winter potatoes go well.

The only variation I'd go for is adding garlic, crushed, which is very tasty too