Recipe: Baked potato gratin

AS A KID I loved guddling with this sort of dish.  Scooping things out, mixing other ingredients in and getting the hands stuck in! This is a versatile one.  It can be used as a standalone dish or is great served with sausages or a juicy steak.

There's bags of different flavours from the tangy cheese, sharp mustard, salty bacon, and the oniony chives. It's ch and indulgent, to say the least.




You will need (serves 4):


4x medium baking potatoes
300mls creme fraiche 
200g strong cheddar (I recommend Keen's or Isle of Mull), grated
100g Grana Padano, grated
155g smoked bacon lardons or pancetta
1/2 pack of chives, finely chopped
Tbsp, wholegrain mustard
Knob of organic butter
Sea salt
Pepper

Method:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 160C. Place the potatoes on a grill pan to allow hot air to circulate underneath.  Sprinkle generously with salt. Place in the oven for 1 hour or until a knife easily slides in.

2) Fry off the bacon lardons and drain on a sheet of kitchen paper. Prepare your other ingredients as above.

2) Allow to cool for five minutes.  Slice the potatoes lengthways, about 1/4 way down the potato to give a lid.  Scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Beat in the butter, add half of the cheddar and grana padano, half of the chives, tbsp creme fraiche, mustard, bacon lardons and season with pepper, and a little salt (remember the cheese and bacon is already salty). Mix thoroughly.

3) Fill the potato shells with the mix.  There should be plenty left over. Spoon the rest of the mix into an ovenproof dish to use as a base.  Place potatoes (with lids) on top.

4) Mix the rest of the cheese and chives with the creme fraiche and lightly season, this way the fat will stop the creme fraiche splitting. Spoon over the mixture, ensuring the potatoes are covered.

5) Place into the oven for 15-20min until golden on top. 






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