Wild Mushroom Potato Pancetta Gratin Food

WILD MUSHROOM AND POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Place the dried porcinis in a bowl or a pyrex measuring cup and pour on 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Drain mushrooms, then squeeze in cheesecloth to extract juices. Rinse several times and chop medium-fine. Measure out 1 cup of broth.
• Meanwhile heat oven to 375 degrees. Rub inside of a 3-quart gratin dish or baking dish all over with the cut half garlic clove and lightly oil with olive oil. Heat oil in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion or shallots and cook gently until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn up heat to high and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until they begin to sweat, 2-3 minutes, reduce heat to medium, and add minced garlic, thyme, rosemary or sage and dried porcinis. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until soft, about 5 more minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until it is no longer visible in the pan. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• In a large bowl combine potatoes, mushrooms, half the cheese, and salt and pepper. Arrange in an even layer in gratin dish.
• Combine milk and mushroom broth. Season generously with salt and pour over the potatoes and mushrooms. Press the vegetables down into the liquid. Bake 1 hour. Every 20 minutes remove gratin dish and press potatoes and mushrooms down into the liquid with the back of a large spoon. After 1 hour, sprinkle on remaining cheese and bake for another 30 minutes, until top is golden and the sides crusty. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot or warm.

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 PANCETTA FRITTATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium (10-inch) oven-proof omelet pan over medium-low heat, cook the pancetta in the olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the pan (don't wipe it out). Add the potatoes and fry them for 6 to 8 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned, turning occasionally. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a small dish in the microwave.
• Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the ricotta, Gruyere, melted butter, and milk. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper and stir into the egg mixture. Add the basil.
• Put the pancetta back into the pan with the potatoes and pour in the egg mixture. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, until the frittata is browned and puffed and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve hot.

WILD MUSHROOM AND SWEET POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• In a skillet saute mushrooms and shallots in olive oil until tender.
• Add chopped parsley,chicken broth, salt and pepper and mix together.
• In medium casserole dish place half of the sliced sweet potatoes, add half of the mushroom mixture, followed by half of the cheese.
• Continue one or more layer in the same order.
• Cover and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and bake for 20 more minutes.

BUTTER-ROASTED SUPREME OF CHICKEN WITH WILD MUSHROOM & POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• To make the gratin, peel and slice the potatoes no thicker than a 50p piece using a mandolin, if you have one. Bring the milk, cream, garlic, herbs and some seasoning to the boil in a large saucepan, then turn down the heat and simmer for a few mins.
• Slip the potatoes into the hot milk mixture and simmer for 10 mins until just cooked. Drain the potatoes in a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid - reserve the milk. While the potatoes are simmering, heat half the butter in a frying pan until foaming. Fry the mushrooms for 2 mins until just wilted, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Rub 2 small gratin dishes (or 1 medium) with the remaining butter, sprinkle over the thyme leaves and grate over some of the cheese. Fill the dishes halfway with potato slices, moisten with a little milk and grate over more cheese. Fill up the dishes with potato slices, add enough milk to cover, then top with the mushrooms and the rest of the cheese.
• For the chicken, mix about two-thirds of the butter with the lemon zest and half the juice, the parsley, paprika and some salt and pepper. Lift the skin slightly away from each breast, spread or pipe the flavoured butter under the skin, then stretch the skin back over. Chill up to a day in advance, if you like.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat the remaining butter in an ovenproof frying pan until foaming. Pan-fry the chicken, basting constantly with the butter until starting to brown. Add the shallot, garlic, thyme and stock. Place the chicken, skin-side up in its pan, on the higher shelf of the oven, and the gratins on the lower shelf. Roast both for 25-30 mins, then remove the chicken and rest for 15 mins, while the gratins continue to cook.
• To finish, remove the chicken from the pan. Place the pan back on the heat, squeeze over the remaining lemon juice and bring everything to a hard boil. Pass the sauce through a sieve, pressing down firmly on all the soft shallot and garlic. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in another frying pan and reheat the leeks until they start to colour. With the gratins cooked, you are now ready to plate up.
• Line six leeks up in a row in the middle of each plate. Carve the chicken on a slant into five thick slices. Neatly fan out each chicken breast over the leeks. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and around the leeks, and serve with the potato gratin.

WILD MUSHROOM POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 400°F.
• Cook chanterelles or shiitakes with salt and pepper to taste in 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Cook cremini in remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in skillet, stirring, until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes, then transfer to bowl with wild mushrooms. Toss mushrooms with 1 teaspoon garlic.
• Peel potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (preferably with an adjustable-blade slicer). Bring potatoes, cream, milk, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic to a boil in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot, stirring once or twice, then remove from heat.
• Transfer half of potatoes to buttered gratin dish with a slotted spoon, spreading evenly. Spread mushrooms evenly over potatoes, then top with remaining potatoes. Pour cooking liquid over potatoes and sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake gratin until top is golden brown and potatoes are tender, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.