Fire Roasted Tomato Au Gratin Potatoes Food

POTATOES AND TOMATOES AU GRATIN

Steps:

• Grill bacon until crisp and crumble.
• Preheat oven to 375F and butter an earthenware dish.
• Combine cheese and breadcrumbs, parsley, chives and season (I often add a minced clove of garlic, too).
• First put a layer using 1/2 of the potatoes, then 1/3 of the tomatoes, sprinkle with 1/2 of cheese and 1/2 of bacon; repeat layering one more time in the same manner; finally, top with remaining tomatoes; drizzle cream over.
• Bake 40-45 minutes, until tender and browned.

SIMPLE AU GRATIN POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add potatoes and onion., Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake 1 hour. Uncover; bake 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. If desired, top with additional pepper.

HOW TO FIRE ROAST TOMATOES

Steps:

• Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise (from stem to tip) and brush the cut sides with olive oil. Place the tomatoes cut side down over a medium flame on a gas grill. If using a charcoal grill, place the tomatoes in the middle of the grill over briquettes that are medium-hot.
• When the tomatoes develop dark char marks (about 5 to 8 minutes depending on size and heat of grill). Continue cooking until the skins begin to blacken in spots. Then, remove the tomatoes from the grill, pile them in a bowl, tightly cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
• When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the blackened skins and dice the flesh, making sure to reserve the juices.
• Use immediately or pack tomatoes in a freezer proof container with juices.

POTATO-TOMATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat a large saute pan or Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes. Swirl in 3 tablespoons olive oil, and then add the onions, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Cook 6 minutes, stirring often, and then turn the heat down to medium. Add the butter, and cook 15 minutes, stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon, until the onions start to caramelize. Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are a deep golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Toss them with the cream, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper.
• Cut the tomatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange them on a plate and season with 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper.
• Place half the caramelized onions in an even layer in a 9-by-9-inch (or equivalent) gratin or baking dish. Arrange one layer of alternating potatoes and tomatoes on top of the onion layer. Layer a couple of slices of cheese and scatter some olives over the cheese. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the cream from the potatoes and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, a healthy pinch of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and half the basil.
• Scatter the rest of the caramelized onions over the potatoes and tomatoes. Arrange another layer of potatoes, tomatoes and cheese on top; make this layer pretty, because it will be the top of your gratin. Pour the remaining cream from the potatoes and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the potatoes and tomatoes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme, olives and basil. Press the vegetables down with your fingers. The cream and oil will come up through the layers and coat the vegetables evenly.
• Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until the potatoes are tender when pierced, about 2 hours. Remove the gratin from the oven and uncover it, being careful of the steam.
• Turn the oven up to 450 degrees F and return the gratin, uncovered, to the oven. Cook until the juices have thickened and the top is nice and golden brown (as in "gratineed"), another 25 to 30 minutes.

ROASTED POTATOES AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Cut 1 1/2 pounds large red-skinned potatoes lengthwise into eighths. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 3 sprigs rosemary, 3 smashed garlic cloves, and salt and pepper. Put cut-side down on the hot baking sheet and roast 15 minutes. Flip the mixture and roast 10 more minutes.
• Serves: 4 Calories:196 Total Fat: 7 grams Saturated Fat: 1 gram Protein: 4 grams Total carbohydrates: 31 grams Sugar: 4 grams Fiber: 4 grams Cholesterol: 0 milligrams Sodium: 134 milligrams Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

JULIA CHILD'S PROVENçAL POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees and place a rack at the middle level. In a large saucepan, combine onions and 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir to coat over low heat. Sprinkle lightly with salt. At a gentle simmer, cook uncovered until onions are softened and lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often. Do not brown; lower the heat if necessary. When done, fold in tomatoes just until heated through. Set aside.
• In a small food processor or a mortar, add the anchovies - anywhere from 6 to 12 fillets, depending on their size and your taste. Add garlic, herbs and a dozen grinds of pepper. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil (or use the oil from the anchovy can, if you like). Crush or pulse together into a chunky paste, thinning with oil as needed to make a loose, fluid mixture.
• In a medium-size baking dish, spread a quarter of the onion-tomato mixture. On top, arrange half the potato slices, then half the anchovy mixture. Add half the remaining onion-tomato mixture. Build one more layer with remaining potato slices, anchovy mixture and onion-tomato mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top and drizzle with olive oil.
• If the dish is very full, place on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake, uncovered, until potatoes are tender and have absorbed all of the juices in the bottom of the dish, 40 to 50 minutes. Test by tasting a bit of potato; it should be soft all the way through, with no raw taste. If the top is browning too fast, cover very loosely with a sheet of foil. If the top is not brown enough when the potatoes are cooked, broil briefly until deliciously glazed.
• Serve gratin hot or warm. Can be cooled and reheated later the same day, but do not refrigerate.

BAKED TOMATO, GRUYèRE & POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Generously grease a large, deep, ovenproof dish. Strip the leaves from 3 of the thyme sprigs. Mix the gruyère with all but 2 tbsp of the grated parmesan, then mix the double cream with the stock.
• Start layering up the sliced potatoes with sprinklings of the shallots, garlic, thyme leaves, cheese and most of the walnuts, plus plenty of seasoning. Drizzle a little of the cream mixture over each layer too. When you've layered in half of those ingredients, top with half of the tomatoes. Continue layering the rest of the ingredients, finishing with the last of the cream. Top with the remaining tomatoes, then sprinkle over the breadcrumbs, the remaining parmesan and walnuts, and enough thyme to look pretty. Add a few more knobs of butter, then cover with foil.
• Bake the gratin for 1 hr 15 mins, then remove the foil and bake for a further 40 mins until golden and crispy on top, and a knife poked into the centre of the potatoes slides in easily. Leave to rest for 10-15 mins, then serve.

POTATO GRATIN WITH PEPPERS, ONIONS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dribble 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a 2-quart rectangular or 14-inch-by-8-inch-by 2-inch oval baking dish and scatter 1/4 of the minced garlic over the bottom of the pan.
• Arrange the vegetables in layers, starting with the potatoes and peppers and finishing with the tomatoes and onion.
• Sprinkle salt, freshly ground pepper, and oregano and about 1/4 of the garlic between each layer.
• Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the surface and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until fork-tender.
• Note: The easiest way to slice the potatoes is with a mandoline. Remember that the thicker the potato slices, the longer it will take to bake.
• Note2: As I have wonderful dried oregano from Greece, I use that as it is better than what I can get fresh.