Leek and potato gratin

Jules from The Domestic Goddess in Training passed me a recipe for leek and potato gratin a couple of weeks back. I finally got round to making it and it was such great comfort food, perfect now that the cold weather is back (boo). Thanks, Jules!

This one is quick to put together without the need to fry off the leeks of parboil the potatoes. Everything goes into a dish, into the oven and onto the table. Just the thing for a weekday dinner. It works nicely as a side dish with pork chops, roast chicken or grilled fish or even a simple steak.




Ingredients:

(Serves 2-3 as a side dish)

70ml vegetable stock
70ml double cream
70ml milk
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
30g cheddar, grated
Some stalks of chives, finely chopped (optional)

Method:

1. Pour stock, cream and milk into a pan. Add garlic and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow the flavours to infuse while working on the other ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to 190C/gas 5. Scatter the potatoes and leeks evenly in an ovenproof dish. Pour over the stock mixture and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Loosely cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and then bake for another 30-40 minutes until the top is golden. Garnish with the chopped chives and serve.

I have tweaked the recipe slightly from the one I was given. As with all kinds of cooking, you should adjust the seasoning, fluids, oven temperatures and so on depending on personal taste and circumstance. For example, add a little more milk or cream to the dish when removing the foil if it looks too dry. Cook the potatoes for longer or shorter depending on how tender or soft you like your potatoes. Or leave it in the oven for a little longer if the top is still not browned to your liking. It doesn't always work to follow a recipe slavishly to the letter. Cooking is as much about personal taste and judgement as about knowing what to do step-by-step. So relax, use your senses and have fun!