Swiss chard, potato and anchovy gratin
This Swiss chard gratin is oomphed up with gruyère, garlic, wine and anchovies. It is best served as the centrepiece of the meal with a green salad alongside, but it is also great as a side to a roast. The gratin can be made in advance and reheated.
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 anchovies
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 600g/1lb 5oz Swiss chard, stems sliced into 3cm/1¼in lengths and leaves sliced into small pieces
- 5 tbsp white wine
- 400ml/14fl oz double cream
- 400ml/14fl oz full-fat milk
- 175g/6oz gruyère, grated
- 1kg/2lb 4oz potatoes, peeled and cut into 3mm-thick slices (use a mandoline if you have one)
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat 4 tablespoons oil and 2 teaspoons salt flakes in a large saucepan. Add the onions and bay leaves. Cook gently until the onions are beginning to soften, but not coloured, then add the anchovies and garlic.
Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch the chard stems for 3 minutes. Add the chard leaves and blanch for a further minute. Carefully remove the chard and refresh immediately under cold running water. Wring out the water from the leaves. Set aside.
Pour the wine into the onion mixture and cook for a few minutes. Add the cream, milk and bay leaves to the pan. Bring to a gentle bubble and then add 100g/3½oz gruyère, reserving the rest for the top of the gratin. Cook until the cheese melts, then add the chard. Stir together and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Drizzle the remaining oil into a 36x27x6cm/14½x10¾x2½in ovenproof gratin dish and grease the gratin dish with the oil.
Using about a third of the potato slices, arrange a layer of potatoes in concentric circles in the dish, ever so slightly overlapping each other. Season with a little sprinkle of salt and then spoon over some of the cheesy mixture. Top with another layer of potatoes, season with salt and repeat with the cheesy mixture. Make sure to save a good amount of the cheesy mixture for the top layer of potato. Finish with a layer of potatoes, spoon over a generous amount of the cheesy mixture and top with the remaining gruyère.
Cover the gratin with a sheet of baking paper and press the paper down to compress it slightly. Cover the gratin dish tightly with kitchen foil.
Bake for 40 minutes, then remove the baking paper and kitchen foil and cook for a further 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbling.
Leave to cool for 10–15 minutes before eating.
Recipe tips
Leaving the gratin for 10–15 minutes after cooking is crucial as the flavours need time to settle.
