Another slightly horrific picture of a gratin, I apologize. There's just not other appropriate way for me to display the cheesy glory that is this recipe (similar to, I imagine, any gratin dish). Again, I have to cite the "Recipes for Health" section of The New York Times as my inspiration.
It's cold here in England. Very cold. January cold.
Which makes it the perfect time of year to celebrate the perhaps coldest section of the United Kingdom: Scotland.
Yes, that's right, once a year, the Brits pay homage to that most indecipherable of poets, Robbie Burns, Scotland's national hero. Perhaps because this is the time of year when most of Britain resembles Scotland: cold, dark, and slightly tipsy.
But, as only the Scots can, they make a merry night of it. Burns' Night, as it's called, involves a great feast and Scottish dancing (called a ceilidh, though just try to say that phonetically).
And what better way to celebrate Scotland than to sample some of Scotland's most famous fare? That's right. Haggis. As Robin Williams says, I'm pretty sure that most Scottish cuisine was based on a dare. Innards and oats, you say? Sign me up!
But seriously, it's delicious. It's warming, it's filling, perfect for cold, dark, slightly tipsy nights such as these. And while haggis is traditionally served with "nips and tatties" (no, not that. I mean, roasted parsnips and cabbage. Get your mind out of the gutter!), I thought we could change the recipe slightly and throw some cheese and milk in with the mix. Hey, the Recipes for Health people recommended it. Who am I to disagree about its apparent "healthiness"?
Whether you're serving this with sheep innards or not, this is a great winter dish and amazingly easy to make. The timing can throw off things, but I cut corners and was able to get this dish out in less than hour (despite what the recipe may say).
G'un robh math agad! (or something to the effect)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds combination of parsnips and swede, peeled and sliced thin (or a combination of turnips, kohlrabi, rutabaga, large parsnips)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or dried)

3/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese (3 ounces)

1 1/2 cups low-fat (1 percent or 2 percent) milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart gratin or baking dish. Place the sliced vegetables in a large bowl, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the thyme, and toss together.

2. Arrange the vegetables in the gratin dish. Add the milk, season with more salt and pepper if you wish, and place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake 45 minutes (I did this in 35 min); every 15 minutes, press the vegetables down into the milk with the back of your spoon. Add the cheese, and stir in carefully to incorporate. Return to the oven, and bake another 30 to 45 minutes (again, I cheated and did this for 25 minutes), stirring or pressing the vegetables down with the back of your spoon every 10 minutes until the gratin is nicely browned and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and serve, or allow to settle and serve warm.

Serves four.

I submit that it is impossible to take a "stunning" photo of gratin. I mean, everyone (I believe) can agree that cheese and potatoes are one of the most delicious combinations ever devised by man, but the advent of the camera has not done the gratin justice visually. Of course, I say this knowing that the New York Times (from which this recipe comes) has produced some sort of visual delight to make everyone ooh and ahh over the "photogeneity" of the beloved dish.

Ah well, ce la vie. This dish is indeed delicious and it even tries to up the gratin ante by sticking Swiss chard in (perhaps to give us the illusion that we are indeed eating "vegetables). For me, the poor chard was lost amongst the cheese and starch and so I would increase the amount if I were to be make it a second time, but believe me, I'm not complaining about the first run.
Prepare thy arteries to be clogged.

Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Salt

1 pound Swiss chard leaves and slender stems, stems cut into 1/4-inch cubes

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 small shallot, sliced

2 thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 pounds (6 to 8 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Pepper

6 ounces grated Gruyère

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and place rack in the center. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; set a bowl of ice water on the side. Boil the chard leaves until tender, 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to the ice water. Squeeze them dry and chop roughly. Boil the diced stems until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and add to chopped chard leaves.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream, garlic, shallot, thyme and bay leaf to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Strain out the solids and add the nutmeg.

3. Meanwhile, slice the potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick rounds with a mandoline or sharp knife. Butter a 12- to 14-inch gratin dish. Assemble the gratin by layering the ingredients in this order: a single, slightly overlapping layer of one-third of the potato slices, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, one-third of the Gruyère, half the Swiss chard and one-third of the reduced cream. Repeat once, and then top with one more layer of potato, salt and pepper, and the rest of the Gruyère and cream.

4. Bake until the top is browned and the potatoes are fork-tender, about 45 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

A Foodie's Footnotes