Potato & Sausage Bake

30 minutes preparation time
1 hour 5 minutes cooking
time
819 Kcal per portion
59.7g fat per portion of which
26.8g is saturated
4 servings
Baking potatoes 900g (2lb), peeled and cut into 1cm (%in) dice
Onions 2 large, peeled and halved, each half cut into three lengthways and the wedges fanned
Smoked pork sausage rings 2 x 227g, each one cut into thick diagonal slices
Butter 50g (2oz), melted Olive oil 2 tbsp
Mixed dried herbs
1-2 tsp
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Single cream 4 tbsp
Cheddar cheese 75g
(3oz), grated
Torn flat-leaved parsley
to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/ Gas 6. Put the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add a little salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Pour into a colander and drain well.

Transfer the potatoes to a large baking dish, or small roasting tin, add the onions, sausage slices, butter, oil and herbs. Season lightly with salt and mix well. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the baking dish or roasting tin from the oven and uncover it. Drizzle the cream over the potato mixture, season with freshly ground black pepper and then sprinkle with the cheese.

Increase the oven temperature to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Return the potato and sausage bake to the oven and continue cooking for a further 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and the potatoes are cooked. Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.

Gratin Dauphinois

Potatoes, cream and cheese- what’s not to like.  Whenever I make this I make more than I need, because it’s just sooo more-ish. It’s a cheesey potato side dish that goes really well with rich food or a steak. It takes a little time to prepare and cook up, but worth the wait.

Once cooked, the cheesey browned topping just looks great. Deird usually eats the toppng off any leftovers before it gets a chance to make it to the fridge. Dang.

Sometimes restaurants make this with a lot of cream and not a lot of potato- so there’s potato swimming in cream. I make it drier, so that you slice out a portion from a big dish, and it just about holds it’s shape.  Mmmmm. 

The best advice for making this is to cut the potato slices as thinly as you can. Use a mandolin if you have one, buy one if you haven’t.

1kg floury potatoes
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch nutmeg
75g gruyere, grated
300ml double cream
100ml milk

Slice potatoes thinly on a mandolin,
Butter a “lasagne” dish and layer in potatoes, with some garlic, nutmeg and cheese between layers.
Pour cream and milk over, so that it fills in the gaps, ans just covers the potatoes.
Sprinkle on remaining cheese.

Bake, for about 45 minutes- although it depends on how big a dish, and how deep it all is.