Sunday, June 18, 2006
Boiled Artichokes with Potato 'Gratin'
Once upon a time I used to shop sensibly and purposefully. Back then we were nigh on broke and I really had to make sure not to waste any money on
unnecessary food items - but, please, don't take this to mean that I bought only baked beans and soggy white bread; necessary is a very broad term in my kitchen. These days, however, necessary seems to have become an unknown. Now that I have more money than sense (yes, I have very little sense), I get myself into precarious situations more and more often.Tonight was a case in point. We had done barel
y anything other than shop for food yesterday, yet tonight I was left wondering what I could cook for dinner. The things in my fridge just somehow refused to combine to for any sensible dinner. In the end I did what I always do when I have lots of bits and still no dish: I made an Auflauf (German for 'bake' or 'gratin') and served it with the globe artichokes we had bought from Dennis yesterday. It may sound somewhat odd, but the combination of potatoes, mushrooms and artichoke was actually quite tasty.2 large globeartichokes
½ medium lemon, sliced
8 small (or 4 medium) potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
3 to 4 rashers of bacon
1 small onion, halved and then sliced
2 big handfuls of button mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 to 3 tsp fresh herbs (I used a mixture of thyme, basil and oregano)
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
enough grated or sliced cheese to cover your dish (I used 100g grated mozzarella and 150g sliced smoked scarmorza)
Bring a large pot of water (big enough to hold both artichokes) to the boil. Gently squeeze some of the juice from the lemon slices into the water, then add the slices. Trim the stalks off the artichokes and add to the boiling water. Cover and simmer until tender, about 1 hour (our artichokes actually took 90 minutes, hence the slightly dark gratin). Your artichokes are cooked when the leaves come out without any resistance.
In the meantime prepare your veggie gratin. Boil the potatoes until just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut into 1cm thick slices. Heat the oil in a large shallow frying pan. Add the bacon and fry until crisp. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Slice into Add the onions to the same pan and fry until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and fry until they have released most of their liquid. Remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a large gratin dish with the butter or olive oil. Arrange the potato slices a single layer on the bottom and top with the bacon slices and mushrooms. Scatter with garlic and herbs and cover with grated/sliced cheese. Bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese has melted and is starting to brown, about 20 minutes. Thoroughly drain the artichokes and serve accompanied by a slice of gratin.
Christine at 10:32 pm
