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?

Pot Roasted Hoggett with mixed vegetables [not (V)] and Potato and Celeriac au Gratin (V)

A pot roast is a great way to get a really succulent roast out of a cheaper cut of meat, or to ensure a properly cooked roast with a minimum of fuss. Whilst new season lamb would be spoiled by such rough treatment, older hoggett like this shoulder joint has a stronger flavour and can carry the rosemary and garlic effectively without being swamped. Use a good sized joint of older lamb or mutton- Leg or shank end, shoulder or middle neck; depending on whether you plan to use the stock for a seperate meal (In which case, get it bone-in) or if you're particularly concerned about carving round a bone (in which case, get your butcher to de-bone the joint, or go for shank end or middle neck).

What you'll need to serve 4-6
For the Pot -
Hoggett Joint, about 4-5lb (1.8-2.25kg)
3 sprigs of Rosemary, torn
3 cloves of Garlic, crushed with skin on
1 large Onion, quartered, skin on
3 Carrots, quartered
1 stick of Celery/ skin of the Celeriac root
3 Bay leaves
Salt and Peppercorns
Enough water to cover two-thirds of the joint
For the Roasting -
2tsp Vegetable Oil
Coarse Salt
A sprig of Rosemary
A clove of Garlic

Pre heat the oven to 120ºC/Gas Mark 1. Put the ingredients in a pan large enough to comfortably accommodate the joint without too much excess space, and be sparing with the water.

Seal the lid tightly (if you have an ill fitting lid, double over a layer of tinfoil and put that over the top of the pan before putting the lid on). Place in the oven and leave to stew for 2 hours.

Remove from the oven and replace to a roasting dish to cool whilst the oven preheats to 240ºC/Gas Mark 7.
Rub down the joint with oil and salt, then pierce the skin in a number of places and insert slivers of garlic and sprigs of rosemary. Place any vegetables to be roasted alongside the joint, and return to the oven for 30 minutes.

The Celeriac and Potatoes au Gratin went in at the same time; look out for that in the next post!

Say Cheese! - Podcast 2

Share the Table Ep02 - Say Cheese! is now available from iTunes (just click the "Subscribe" button to the right), or to stream at Mixcloud or Podbean.

In our second ever podcast, we talk localism, markets, wine and cheese. Thanks to our guests, Joan Jones and Gwilim Owen, who enjoyed pot roasted hoggett; laverbread, leek and carrot cutlets; celeriac and potato au gratin; and a local cheese board.

Remember, you can get in contact if you’d like to share any recipes or indeed, would like to Share The Table with us.

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.

Our First Sharing Experience - Podcast 1

Hey Guys, we've done it! after careful massacring editing of our 5 hours of recording, we've managed to get our first podcast down to size.
First of all we want to thank our guests for the evening, Claire Cullimore, Becky Lewis-Bloor, Zeph Madden and Joe Stratford - we were lucky to have such eager table sharers for our first podcast.
In our maiden voyage, Dave tackles Gnocchi for the first time and I make Green Tagliatelle with a Creamy Sage and Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce (with optional bacon!) - gah that's a mouthful.

We hope you enjoy our podcast - it's our first so please get in contact and let us know what you liked/didn't like and what you'd like to see in future :) Also, please get in contact if you'd like to share any recipe's or indeed, would like to Share The Table with us.

Second hello!

This is mostly in the nature of a test, to see if I have full posting privileges :-). In any case, hello! Hopefully, you'll be seeing- and hearing- a lot more of both of us in the coming weeks. Until then, cheeribye!

Welcome to Share The Table!

Hello there, and welcome to the Share The Table Blog - a companion to the fortnightly podcast.

We are David Dawes and Ash Jones, studenty types in the worst recession for the past twenty years. As such, we find ourselves with next to no money, a lot of debt- and a fair amount of time on our hands. Here's a little about us:

Dave - I've always loved cooking, and I continue to do so, even in straightened circumstances. I also pride myself on my ability to do well without an extensive (and expensive) outlay. And that's what the plan for this podcast is; to show practically how one can cook and eat well with inexpensive ingredients, limited time, and shared facilities. I also think that sharing food is one of the best reasons to come together with people, and that's why at least half of each podcast consists of dinner table conversation, in addition to recipes, tips and news.

Ash - Almost seven years ago I became a vegetarian and that's when I realised I needed to learn how to cook - with a few second-hand cook-books on my shelf I became really enthused with making good quality, meet-free grub, and combined that with another passion of mine - entertaining friends. I love to know where my food comes from and it's not always easy to do when you buy pre-made foods, that's why I get down to the basics and try to make most things from scratch. I like supporting my local farmers by buying from the Gower growers, and I'm keen on getting the best out of the seasonal produce.

Anyway, that's enough faff- let's get on with it!

- Dave & Ash