Starter, Side, or Supper? (and Inadvertent One Flame Cookery)

I had some kale from our allotment to use yesterday, so fell back on something mentioned on a previous post - remove the stems, wash (very carefully in salted water, it often harbours scale insects and the occasional tiny slug, though supermarket stuff almost certainly just needs a quick rinse) and steam the leaves, then cut them fine and add a boiled egg or two, a tin of anchovies and their oil, some crushed garlic, and a good grating of parmesan. All this chopped together and mixed up is put still warm on hot buttered toast. The flavours are not exactly subtle, but on a damp November evening robust is good.

When I was planning our evening meal I had this in mind, and tried to think of how to turn it from what is a good starter or maybe a side dish, into a main course. Potatoes, rice or pasta would be inappropriate. Another veg in it would be too much, even finely diced onion. A vegetable with it seems weird. The only thing that tempted me was adding a fried mushroom or two (with hindsight perhaps steaming one or two briefly would be better), but even that didn't get my vote. The only way I can think of (any ideas gratefully received) to make this a main course would be to do lots of it, but good though it is...

So some things are perhaps not meant to be a full supper, or dinner, or tea,  depending on how you style your main meal. Pity, as it is cheap, tasty, nutritious, and just takes ten minutes to knock up. I ended up making a small amount of spaghetti with meat balls (three sausages to use up) and mushrooms and a simple tomato sauce to follow it. 

Though it was not what I had in mind when actually making it, if you boil the egg first this is another one flame cooking thing (provided you have a toaster, though good crunchy bread would be equally good), and a very healthy one too. And there is a minimum of washing up, always a plus. 

Whatever Happened to the Gratin?

The world of the celebrity chef, where everything seemingly has to be either fried before your eyes or include some odd/exotic ingredients, has to my mind seen the relegation of the gratin to the outer regions. Shame. A good potato gratin is a) tasty; b) cheap; c) easy to make. This is a good potato gratin.

Take four or five fist-sized spuds and slice about 3mm thick, then boil for no longer than three minutes and remove from the water. Fry two large onions sliced thinly until transparent. Grate 100g strong hard cheese - cheddar is ideal (and not mild for goodness' sake).

In an oven-proof dish put a layer of spuds, then of onion, and season well. Put on a small sprinkle of cheese, but save most for the top. Repeat until used up, finishing with a layer of spuds. Measure enough milk to cover all bar the very surface of the gratin, beat in an egg, then pour over. Finish with lots of grated cheese on top, and dot with a few dabs of butter. Cook in a hot oven (200C) until the top is browning. 

Served with a salad (and it doesn't have to be something green from a bag - make a salade de racines with matchsticks of carrot, turnip and beetroot dressed with a vinaigrette) and some bread to mop up the juices it makes a filling and enjoyable supper. And the gratin costs less than £2 with enough to fill four. Splash out by adding some strips of smoked bacon (use that thrifty standby 'recipe bacon' or offcuts from the butcher or butchery counter) to satisfy the carnivores. Instead of the milk and egg mixture use stock - chicken, ham or vegetable - from a cube or your own labours and it is even cheaper, though I prefer the milky version.