Orange and White

Back before the World Wide Web my dinner parties began with me sitting down on the living room floor, surrounded by cookbooks and back issues of magazines like Gourmet and Bon Appetit to put together a menu. At that time (the late 80′s) my favorite go-to books were the three Silver Palate cookbooks, but I also relied on the magazines as well and I think this recipe came from on of them. As I found interesting recipes I’d jot down the name of the recipe, the book or magazine I found it in, and the page number on a yellow legal pad.

In some ways that old process was more fun and satisfying than what I do now.

Now days I browse the Internet and copy links into a Word document. It’s far more efficient and I have far more recipes to choose from, but in some ways that old process was more fun and satisfying than what I do now.

I’ve long since gotten rid of those old back issues, and I doubt I ever wrote down this recipe — I certainly don’t have it now — but I was so pleased with the results and it was so simple that I’ve made it many times since then. It’s best when the first new potatoes appear in the market and you get that incredibly earthy flavor but even in the dead of winter it’s a great dish. Be sure to use small waxy potatoes.

Potato/Carrot Gratin
Serves 4.

1 lb. sm. waxy potatoes, sliced 1/4″ thick
2 med. carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds
6 oz. Gruyere, shredded
6 Tbsp. minced fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, or parsley)
6 Tbsp. chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350F. Butter a small baking dish.

Cook potatoes and carrots in boiling water until just barely tender.

Arrange a layer of potatoes and carrots in the baking dish, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a tablespoon of herbs, sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Repeat for two more layers. Add chicken broth.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | potatoes | carrots | gratin

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