Potato and Anchovy Gratin

This dish makes a delightful lunch or light supper, the combination of cream, potatoes and anchovies is stunning!

It's important to use Swedish Anchovies. Swedish anchovies are pale, bigger and generally preserved in sweetened brine, often flavoured with a hint of cinnamon and ginger. They're readily available from that big swedish furniture store!

Ingredients

• 2oz/60g softened butter
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2x4 1/2oz / 125g tins Swedish anchovies, drained (keep the juice from one of the tins)
• 6 medium sized  waxy potatoes (Desiree are best) peeled
• 14floz/400ml whipping cream
• 2tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs

Start as ever by preheating the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Prepare the potatoes, ideally with a mandoline, ensuring thin even slices and also finely chop the shallots (I prefer the extra sweetness of shallots over onions, but onions will still make an excellent dish too)

Grease a shallow ovenproof dish with half the butter. Fill the base of it with the shallots.

Now use a pair of scissors and snip the anchovies into four and distribute them over the shallots.

Pour over the juice from one of the tins. Cover with the prepared potatoes, press them down lightly and season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper.

Pour over the cream and then quietly tap the dish a couple of times upon a wooden surface to settle the assembly. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the surface and dot with the remaining butter.

Now place dish in the pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until crusted and golden, bubbling at the edges. The smell will be tantalising, I promise you!

Serve at the table with a watercress salad, dressed lightly with oil and white wine vinegar.

Comments

[Signe]

Amazing, so simple and yet I can imagine how good this tastes ;)

[aforkfulofspaghetti]

Delicious! Very enticing photo, too...