TURNIP AND POTATO GRATIN

This is a classic French dish with a twist of turnips or swedes - it is delicious which ever way you eat it and it accompanies a perfectly cooked steak harmoniously well.


ready to bake

550g medium potatoes (Desirée, King Edward, or Maris piper)

550g large turnips or swede

500ml cream or you can do ½ cream and ½ milk

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (if possible)

10g/10 pinches sea salt

1g/2 pinches freshly ground black or white pepper

10g/2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C  

Wash & peel the potatoes and turnips. Pat dry and slice them 2mm thick (a Japanese mandolin is perfect for this job).

On medium heat, in a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the seasoning, thyme leaves and crushed garlic and leave to infuse off the heat

Mix the sliced vegetables in a large gratin dish layer the sliced vegetables halfway up the dish; pour half the warm cream through a strainer over the sliced vegetables add the remaining sliced vegetables making sure you top the gratin with a layer of just potatoes as this will give you a golden crust.

Pour over the remaining sieved cream and discard the garlic. Press gently with the back of a spoon to ensure the cream is evenly distributed

Cover with tin foil and bake in the pre-heated over for 40 minutes

Remove the tin foil and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the vegetables are just cooked in the middle 

Leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

A FEW TIPS ON COOKING A GRATIN

Don’t wash the potatoes after we have sliced them as the starch present will bind the the layers together and also give a good caramelisation.

If you leave a layer of turnips on the top they will dry out and curl up.

Cooking - The gratin is cooked when the tip of a sharp knife cuts into the gratin with little resistance (you shouldn’t feel the layers).