Ingredients.

(dish approx 8 x 11 inch)

1 KG potatoes

150mls Chicken (or Veg) stock -(1/2 Knor stockpot in 150mls water)

350 mls cream

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons butter

3 leeks mainly white part – sliced not too thin

3  large cloves  garlic (crushed)

Half Teaspoon Thyme

salt and pepper

Grated Parmesan (at least 40g)

Method.

Some gratin recipes are all about careful layering and repetition of steps - it can be fiddley and time consuming - but with this recipe just add a wee bit of salt and pepper as you place the spuds down and nothing else! Its all poured in together!

Also I find that onions in gratin potatoes can have a slightly metallic taste - they are never as nice as you hope. But using leeks … sautéed until they are silken … DIVINE!

Preheat oven to 180

Use unto a half a Knor Chicken Stockpost in 150mls hot water

Put your stock, cream, bay leaf, crushed garlic and several good twists of black pepper in to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Once it has simmered for no more than a minute - set it aside, off the heat and let the flavours infuse together.

Slice your leeks and use all the white and the palest part of the green stalk. Sometimes your leeks can be dirty inside - if so rinse them in a colander and pat dry.

In a frying pan or small wok melt your butter and add the leeks and slowly cook them over a low heat until they get really soft, pale and silky, stirring them often. This will take time but its worth it.

When they are nearly done add the thyme.

Once they are done add your cream mixture, removing the bay leaf.

For this quantity I use a baking dish which is about 8 x 11 inches. Slice the potatoes, they don’t have to be so thin that its hard to do and place them into the dish in layers and sprinkle with salt and pepper as you go. Now pour the leeks and cream mixture over them.

Cover the dish with foil and cook in the oven for 50 mins.

If I want to prepare ahead of time this is where I stop and set the dish aside for later.

Remove the foil from the dish and sprinkle on the grated parmesan. Grated is not the same as shavings. You can buy the parmesan already grated and its very handy as I use it in soups, dressings and of course on pasta dishes.

The first time I cooked this I used exactly 40 g but now I just sprinkle on as much as I think looks like a nice covering so its at least 40g but could be more.

Pop back in the oven for about 20/25 mins uncovered.

Ingredients.

700g baby potatoes

Olive Oil

2 Medium Red Onions - in 6ths (petals)

2.5 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar *

Blue Cheese

Thyme - optional

Garlic Salt - optional

salt and pepper

Preparation

You need to marinate the onions a bit in advance for this recipe.

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*Wildwood Balsamic Vinegar - If you can get it - the cherry or the blackcurrant is just perfect with the blue cheese

Method.

This was one of those recipes that I came up with because of what I had in the fridge and larder. No doubt the blue cheese was left over from a party or was a gift and I think the potatoes were there because I was trying out potato salad recipes. Funnily enough this recipe is making it on to the website before the potato salad one 😉

Preparation

You need to cut your onions into petals. With medium onions I do 6ths and large I do 8ths. Then soak them for a few hours in the balsamic vinegar. See Photo above.

Preheat oven to 200

1. Throw your Potatoes in to a pan of simmering water and par boil them for not more than 5 minutes. This will also save you washing them! Drain them immediately so they don’t further cook and it helps them dry.

2. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of olive oil and put it in the oven to heat.

3. Let your spuds cool a bit and then cut them into bite size chunks. With baby potatoes this is usually halves or thirds.

4. Toss your potatoes in the hot oil or spoon it over them in the baking dish and sprinkle with a bit of salt. I prefer to sprinkle mine with Garlic Salt (not granules) and a little bit of thyme or mixed herbs.

5. Cook the potatoes for 10 minutes and then remove from the oven and drain off most of the oil.

6. Drain the onions and add them evenly through the potatoes and return the baking dish to the oven.

7. Cook for a further 20 minutes but do toss potatoes and onions at least once during that time to stop the onions from burning.

8. Cut your blue cheese into small cubes or crumble it and sprinkle on your potatoes and let it melt in. Use as much as you want depending on your fondness for Blue Cheese.

9. Finally give the whole thing a few twists of Black Pepper.

Ingredients.

1.2 kg potatoes (after peeling)

80 g Butter

2 Medium Onions - diced finely

1lb Sausage Meat

1 Jar Thyme

2 large handfuls of Breadcrumbs

Fresh Parsley (pref Curly)

salt and pepper (black and white if you have both)

Extra Butter for greasing the oven proof dish

Method.

This is my Grandmother Kathleen Lennan’s Stuffing.

The ingredients are as per my last use and due to the nature of the old handwritten recipe there is a mixture of Grams and Ozs given for things - I will update this anytime I see an improvement!

Preheat oven to 170

Peel the spuds to around 2lb 9 oz - cut them in half and pop them in a very large saucepan to boil. You will be adding all the other ingredients to the saucepan and need room to stir. Make sure they are properly done - not still hard - catch them before they start to fall apart is the best way to describe them. You need to mash them and I’ve no time for mashers or ricers - you should be able to get a fork at this.

Dice the onions and fry them in the butter adding a full jar of the thyme towards the end as they are softening.

Mash or break up the spuds and mix in your onions thyme and butter.

Now gradually stir in your sausage meat, bread crumbs and salt and pepper- I find a wooden spoon and a knife handy as the sausage meat can be tricky. Slice through the mix with a knife every few stirs.

Put your mixture in an oven proof dish which needs to be well greased all round with butter!

Cover with tinfoil and cook for around 50 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and stir in the parsley and put back uncovered for around 10mins.

If you are making this the day before - don’t put the parsley in until the next day and just put it in when heating the stuffing.

Ingredients.

600 G potatoes - sliced

 150g shallots or onion - sliced

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon oil 

2 large cloves garlic - crushed

15 mls sherry or port

1 Bay Leaf

200 mls stock with ½ a stock pot either veg or chicken

 1/2 teaspoon thyme

3 heaped teaspoons crispy onions (available in all supermarkets - I use Kuhnes)

Salt

Black and White Pepper

An oven proof dish - lightly rubbed with butter.

To save time you can prepare your infusion well in advance and cover it. Pour it over the potatoes when needed and place in the oven.

They are also great the next day so are a handy mid week low calorie flavoursome vegetable which can do you for 2 days.

Method.

These potatoes are less daunting and less fattening than Dauphinoise but done correctly they are a real crowdpleaser and will make your pototoes go a long way.

Dauphinoise Potatoes are cooked in cream but Boulangère potatoes are cooked in stock so there are fewer calories but I think it’s worth a couple of easy extra steps to make sure you are not losing out on flavour.

You could use Onion and Garlic Powder (the type you get in the Asia Market) but I always have Crispy Onions on hand for serving on top of soup or making a sprinkle for Pizza and I find they do a great job of adding a delicious flavour to these potatoes.

Preheat oven to 180

Before you even look at a potato prepare the onion and garlic infusion first so that the flavours can develop.

In a pan sweat your onions in the butter and oil. If you don’t have a lid for the pan then just use a bit of tinfoil over them to keep the moisture in. Use a little salt to help the flavour come out but not too much as you will be adding more salt to the dish.

While the onions are slowly becoming soft and translucent crush your garlic and when the onions are nearly done add the garlic for just a minute or two making sure not to burn it. Add your sherry to the pan and give it a stir through. Add your bay leaf, stock, thyme, crispy onions and a little shake of white pepper if you have it. Stir it all through well and take it from the heat and let it infuse. Keep it covered so the liquid doesn't evaporate. If you think you have lost a bit of liquid you can add 20 or 30 mls water.

While that infuses you can slice your potatoes and grease your dish.

The potatoes should be quite finely sliced, but don’t worry if you only have a knife and not one of those mandolins that can take a finger off you - a good knife will get them thin enough.

Now put down your first of 3 layers of potato, overlapping the slices slightly. Do a light grind of salt and black pepper over the layer and then using a fork lift about half of the onions from your pan and layer them over the potato. Do the same again on top and then your final layer of potato. Then pour the mixture from the pan over the dish and let it soak down through the potatoes.

Cover your dish with tinfoil or a lid and place in the oven for 35 minutes. Then take the foil off and cook for 10 more minutes.