Celeriac and Potatoes au Gratin (V)

Celeriac and Potato au Gratin is a useful side as it's simple to prepare ahead and then put in the oven to heat through. The principal is the same as any other vegetable gratin- thin slices of root veg, in a thick sauce, so that the veg cooks through and binds into a gooey, gorgeous chunk with a crispy top.

What you'll need to serve 3-5
1 Celeriac root
2 large, waxy Potatoes
500ml Milk
Bay leaf
1 small Onion, halved
Peppercorns for seasoning
150g hard Cheese, grated

Starting with the vegetables, peel your celeriac and scrub the potatoes.
Then slice to about 2cm thick- I'm using a mandoline for this, to get even, thin slices, but it's easy enough to do with a sharp knife. Once you have some slices, start layering them in a greased dish, half and half celeriac and potato. Don't worry about overlap, the holes will allow the sauce to permeate.







Whilst you're doing this, you can begin to prepare the sauce. A classic gratin dauphinois uses potatoes and a cheese sauce, but although we're using potato to bulk this dish out, the focus should be on the celeriac, which has a slightly more delicate flavour. To bring it out, use this, simpler sauce.

First, gently heat a pint of milk with the bay leaf, some peppercorns, and half an onion at a low temperature.
After about fifteen minutes, and once you've finished slicing and layering the root vegetables, strain this into a saucepan, then drop in a couple of small chunks of butter which have been rolled in flour.

Then slightly increase the temperature to thicken the sauce, being careful to stir constantly and scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent lumps. Once it's reached your desired consistency, after about five minutes, take it off the heat, ready to be poured over the sliced roots.

The crispy top is what defines cooking "au gratin", but this dish is already so starchy that breadcrumbs would be overkill, so just add a thin layer of grated cheese.

This prepared Gratin will keep covered in the fridge for up to a day until you're ready to put it in the oven, with the pot roast in this case, for 30 minutes at 240ºC/Gas Mark 7, or until the top is nicely browned.

So, here we have the meaty meal as a whole. The basis of this gratin can be used for any type of root vegetable or squash- bear in mind that aubergine or marrow is more delicate and would lose its shape if treated roughly. Hope you enjoy it- don't hesitate to let us know via sharethetable@gmail.com if you do! And if you don't, then why not vent on the discussion board at Facebook?

Green Tagliatelle with a creamed Sage and Roasted Butternut Squash sauce (v) [with optional Pancetta - not (v)]

Despite using double cream, this dish is relatively light so is perfect as a starter, to eat cold as a lunchtime snack or to serve in a bigger portion for a dinner. The red onion, orange squash and green pasta make this a very pretty dish indeed.

What you'll need to serve 4-6:

3 small red onions, finely chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4-5 table spoons of chopped fresh sage
oil for frying
300g/9.5oz butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cubed
150ml white wine
300ml double cream
500g Verdi (spinach) Tagliatelle
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g chopped pancetta (optional)

Preparing the Squash:



* Make sure the outer skin is firm.
* Separate the squash in two - split the bulb from the thinner part.
* Cut the bulb in half and scoop out the innards with a spoon.
* Peel the skin off and then cut in to cubes:


Take the cubed butternut squash and place on a baking tray, cover with some oil and some salt to help roast the edges and pop in a pre-heated oven at about 200c/400f (gas mark 6) for about ten minutes.

Boil a pan of water with some salt and cook the pasta as the package dictates

.Steamy Steamy = hot hot hot!

Take another pan and heat it to a medium heat and add the oil, garlic and onion, cook for about 3 minutes until browned.


Check on the squash cubes - turn them and mix them up a bit to make sure all of the cubes are cooked through. Take out about 100g of the squash and mash.


In to a third pan add the chopped pancetta to go brown and crisp - there's no need to add oil as there's plenty of fat in the bacon.


Back to the simmering pan with the sage, turn up the heat and add the wine and mashed squash - make sure it all mixes in together.


Bring it to the boil and add in the double cream and mix well.
Reduce to a simmer until the pasta is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.


When done, separate out the Tagliatelle and toss on some of the roasted Butternut Squash. Pour over the sauce and serve with the Pancetta in a separate bowl.


Variation:
You could use some curry spices like cumin, tumeric, paprika or currry leaves to give more warmth to the squash flavour prior to roasting. Just pop the cubed uncooked squash in a bowl with some oil and spice/s and mix well prior to roasting.