Potato And Mushroom Gratin Nigella Lawson Food

CREAMY POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices, neither especially thin nor especially thick (approximately 1/2-inch) and put them into a large saucepan with the milk, cream, onion, minced garlic and salt. Bring to the boil and cook at a robust simmer or gentle boil (however you like to think of it) until verging on tender, but not dissolving into mush. The pan might be hell to clean afterward, but any excuse for long, lazy soaking rather than brisk pre-or postprandial scrubbing always appeals to me. And, for what it's worth, I find that when pans are really, dauntingly, stuck with cooked-on gunge, it's more effective to soak them in hot water and detergent (i.e., the stuff you put in the washing machine, though I haven't tried, and don't think I would, with tablets) rather than dish liquid.
• Use some of the butter to grease a large roasting pan (15 by 12-inches) and then pour the almost sludgy milk and potato mixture into it. Dot with remaining butter and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until the potato is bubbly and browned on top. Remove, let stand for 10 to 20 minutes and then serve.
• This is not the most labor saving way of cooking potatoes, to be sure, but one of the most seductive. And it reheats well as an accompaniment to cold roast pork, or indeed anything in the days that follow.

BLOOD AND GUTS POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Prick the potatoes here and there with a fork and put them into the oven, straight on the wire rack, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on their size.
• Take the potatoes out of the oven and let them cool down a little before you handle them. Carefully slice each 1 in half and scoop out the fluffy potato flesh into a bowl, reserving the skins.
• Put the diced mozzarella into the bowl with the potato and add the 2 tablespoons of ketchup. Mix with a fork and then spoon the filling back into the potato skins.
• Sit the loaded potato skins on a lined baking sheet, and dribble over some more ketchup in a gory blood-dripping kind of way. Put back in the oven to cook for 15 minutes, by which time the cheese will have melted and the potatoes be warmed through.

POTATO AND MUSHROOM GRATIN

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine milk, cream, garlic, 3 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf over low-medium heat. Heat to just under a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep while preparing the rest of the dish.
• Coat a skillet with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add remaining thyme and bay leaf. Saute the mushrooms and leeks for 5 minutes to evaporate the liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
• Butter a large casserole dish. Arrange 1/3 of the sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan, overlapping them slightly. Season the potatoes with chopped parsley, chives, salt and pepper. Top potatoes with half of the mushroom mixture. Repeat layering 1/3 of the potatoes and remaining mushroom mixture. Arrange remaining potatoes on top. Press the layers down with a spatula to condense. Remove the solids from the infused milk and pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle the surface with cheese. Cover the pan with foil and place in a preheated 375 degrees F oven. Bake for 1 hour until the potatoes are tender. Uncover and bake for 15 additional minutes until cheese melts and gratin is golden around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with fresh parsley.

POTATO AND MUSHROOM GRATIN (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°; butter a shallow baking dish or gratin.
• Bring the sliced potatoes, milk, wine, salt, and pepper to a boil in a large pan, stirring occasionally; leave at a simmer while you get on with the mushrooms.
• Melt the butter and garlic oil in a skillet over med-high heat; add in mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Pour the mushrooms and their garlicky juices into the pan of potatoes, stir to mix.
• Transfer to the gratin dish; bake for 45 minutes or until piping hot, and crisp on top.