Salmon, Potato Gratin and Cauliflower

More left over Smoked Salmon, more dinners. We had a lot of leftover delicious smoked salmon. We made a potato gratin to serve with the salmon. The recipe is named: Gratin Dauphinois Madame Cartet (Madame Cartet's Potato Gratin) from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. This is a classic Potato Gratin recipe. It was a snap to make, with our Magimix, that slices the potatoes perfectly. It is excellent.

We also made a very unusual recipe for Saffron Cauliflower that Robert and Darryl recommend from the cookbook, Plenty by Yoam Ottolenghi. We are really glad they recommended it to us.

Gratin Dauphinois Madame Cartet

Madame Cartet's Potato Gratin

Bistro Cooking

Patricia Wells

There are some recipes one can never have too many of in one's repertoire. And potato gratin is one of them. This is one of the easiest potato gratins I know, cooking in just under one hour, a simple but full-flavored blend of potatoes, fresh cream, garlic, and freshly grated Gruyere cheese. Twice each day, Therese Nouaille, of Paris's tiny neighborhood bistro Cartet, prepares this gratin for her steady customers: Make it yourself and you'll understand why they keep coming back!

1     garlic clove

2     pounds (1 kg) baking potatoes, such as russets, peeled and very thinly sliced

1     cup (about 3 ounces; 80 g) freshly grated French or Swiss Gruyere cheese

1     cup (25 cl) crime fraiche (see Index) or heavy cream Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Thoroughly rub a shallow, 6-cup porcelain gratin dish with the garlic. Layer half of the potatoes in the dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and then half of the creme fraiche. Sprinkle with salt. Add another layer, using the rest of the ingredients. Bake, uncovered, until the gratin is crisp and golden on top, from 50 to 60 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

In 1793 potatoes were considered so indispensable that a decree of the French Republic ordered a census to be taken of luxury gardens, so that they
could be devoted to the cultivation of this vegetable. As a result, the principal avenue in the Jardin des Tuileries and the flower beds were turned over to potato cultivation. This is why potatoes were for a long time given the additional name of 'royal oranges’

Alexandre Dumas

Dumas on Food

Saffron cauliflower

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi

In the summer of 2009 I was asked by the makers of the Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 to host a half-hour show on a subject of my choice. Bizarrely, I ended up doing a program about cauliflower, trying to show how this veg is unjustifiably losing its popularity in recent years, particularly to broccoli. I know that there's nothing obviously sexy about cauliflower to warrant star status. In fact, it seems - on the face of it -somehow dull and dreary. But as we were working on the show I realized that this isn't really the case, that cauliflower is actually wonderfully versatile, much more so than broccoli. Both Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi's executive head chef, and I agreed that it is one of those singular vegetables, like potato or eggplant, that can take on big flavors without losing its own unique character.

Here's one example. Serve it as part of a mezze selection or as a side dish with lentils or fish. To upgrade, drizzle with tahini sauce.

Serves 4 as a side dish

1-1/2 tsp saffron

1/3    cup boiling water

1       medium cauliflower, divided into medium florets

1       large red onion, sliced

2/3         cup golden raisins (if they are very dry soak them in water for a few minutes, then drain)

½      cup good-quality green olives, pitted and cut lengthways in half

4       tbsp olive oil

2       bay leaves

salt and black pepper

4       tbsp roughly chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the saffron strands in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave to infuse for a minute, then pour the saffron and water into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and mix everything together well with your hands.

Transfer the mix to a medium ovenproof dish, cover with foil and place in the oven. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender but still a bit firm, not soft. Halfway through the cooking time remove the dish from the oven and stir well, then cover again and return to bake.

Once the cauliflower is cooked, take it out of the oven, remove the foil and allow to cool down slightly before stirring in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve warm or at room temperature.