Try out a creamy gratin that combines potatoes, smoked trout, and cavolo nero, all enveloped in a aromatic cream sauce and crowned with cheese. This dish is the ultimate comforting potato centerpiece. For a tasty variation on classic roasties, prepare crisp roast potatoes coated in a aromatic butter emulsion featuring white wine.
Smoked Trout and Cavolo Nero Potato Gratin
Prep 15 min
Cook 2 hr 15 min
Serves 4
600ml heavy cream
3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
2 branches rosemary sprigs
3 branches thyme sprigs
Zest of 1 fresh lemon
Nutmeg
Seasoning
25g unsalted butter
1 brown onion, peeled and sliced thin
200g Tuscan kale, stems removed, leaves cut
750g maris piper, peeled and cut into thin slices
200g thinly sliced trout
3 stalks dill, finely chopped
150g grated cheese
Add the cream into a pan and mix in the garlic, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, and a pinch of nutmeg. Salt generously with salt and white pepper, then set over a low heat and bring to a gentle bubble for about 10 minutes, to infuse and reduce. Remove and discard the garlic and herbs.
Heat the butter in a pan on a medium flame, chuck in the sliced onions and cook for several minutes, until tender. Stir in the cavolo nero, pepper well and saute until the cabbage wilts. Turn off the heat.
Place the thinly sliced potatoes in a layer in the bottom of a large 9cm x 12cm baking dish. Cover with a portion of the onions and cavolo nero, then pour over some of the cream mixture and salt. Layer with pieces of smoked trout and a dusting of chopped dill, then add some cheese. Carry on the steps until you get to the top of the baking dish, ensuring the final layer is potatoes covered with cream and cheese.
Cook at 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½ for 105 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.
White Mulled Wine Roast Potatoes
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min, plus cooling
Serves 4
6 maris piper, peeled and quartered
1 vegetable stock cube
Seasoning
4 tbsp vegetable oil
200ml wine
½ shallot, peeled and finely diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Nutmeg
2 whole cloves
Peel from 1 fresh lemon, peeled off in strips
50g butter
2 branches rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
2 stalks thyme, leaves plucked and finely chopped
3 sprigs sage, leaves removed and chopped
Put the prepared potatoes in a pot of cold water, include the stock cube and flavor with salt. Bring to a boil , then boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until they easily pierced. Drain, then place a tea towel over the colander and let to dry for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the oven to 200C.
Place the oil into a tray and set it in the oven to get very hot. After the potatoes are ready, carefully add them to the hot oil and turn with a utensil, so they're evenly covered. Bake for 30 minutes, then shake the tray and place in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, place a pot on a high flame, pour in the white wine, then mix in the shallots, garlic, nutmeg, cloves, and lemon zest, and reduce until the liquid has halved. Stir in the butter and herbs, then fish out and remove the cloves and lemon zest. By this point, the potatoes ought to be done.
Toss the potatoes in the sauce, season and serve immediately.
