Winter warmers!

More comfort food is required and I immediately think of soup. You may think boring but as with lots of dishes it's what you serve with that elevates. In my opinion soup on its own just isn't right – it needs zhuzh and by that I mean either good rustic bread, garlic or otherwise for dunking purposes or a step up – what about a dumpling?

Before I begin with the recipe I think it's worthwhile repeating a tip.

Traditionally dumplings are placed on top of a casserole with a tightly fitting lid. Casseroles have a thicker consistency than soup and obviously, usually, slow cooked in the oven. Soup simmers on top of the hob and saucepan lids “sit” on top of the pan and are not what I'd describe as “tightly fitting”.

Here's my tip - tear off a sheet of foil large enough to overlap the pan, push down slightly and then secure with the lid. Make sure your soup is simmering gently before you add the dumplings and seal with foil. 20 minutes later you'll have dumplings the size of which you wouldn't believe.

A bowl of soup with dumplings – bring it on!

Here goes …

You've heard of twice cooked chips …

... here are twice cooked roast potatoes!

The easiest way to show you, is as a guide :

I peeled 3 medium sized Maris Piper

potatoes, weighing 250-270g each and cut into

a total of 16 roasties (4 to 6 depending on size of

potato) and roasted for 20 minutes in a

pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6, then turned

and repeated. It doesn't matter that there's a variation

in colour

I'd already used half of the roasties to serve with

a supper earlier in the week and set aside, wrapped

in foil and fridged the remaining half to “twice cook”

to serve with anything you fancy!

The set aside half of the part roasted potatoes – 8

cut vertically gave me 22 “mini”

roasties ready to “twice cook”

Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes in a pre-heated

oven as above

Twice cooked roasties, ready to serve!

It's definitely worth planning for “deliberate leftovers” - why make work for yourself.

Now for some winter warmers!

The real deal – Gratin Dauphinoise …

 … a photo guide

thinly sliced potatoes – I used Charlotte's

rinsed thoroughly and dried in a clean

tea towel

prepped and ready for the oven

out of the oven, ready to roll!

Pure decadence – if you want to show off this is the way to do it. Serve with slow cooked beef cheeks and roasted carrots and parsnips – or – a veggie roast! (See The Veggie Roast)

Finally with the humble spud … you've heard of twice cooked chips ...

The real deal – Gratin Dauphinoise

Now for the real deal ...

450g/1lb waxy potatoes – peeled and sliced

no thicker than a two penny piece -

you can use your new holder!

300ml/10fl oz/½ pint of double cream

or for a plant alternative use Elmlea 100%

Plant Double Alternative to crea

unsalted butter for greasing your dish

knobs of unsalted butter to scatter over the

completed gratin – a 30g slice divided into six

or for a plant alternative use Flora Plant unsalted

butter

2 cloves of roasted garlic

celery salt and black pepper to season

Pre-heat the oven 130f/150c/Gas 2.

Rinse the potatoes thoroughly in cold water, shake them dry in a clean tea towel. Grease the baking dish generously with unsalted butter and add the garlic.

Layer the potatoes in your dish, season well, pour over the cream and then add the knobs of butter.

Bake in the oven for 1½ hours. Set your timer for 1 hour 20 minutes – for the remaining 10 minutes turn the oven up to high for a golden crust.

Yum!

The final fotos …

… and the advantages using the cheats version

Bake for 30 minutes until it looks like this :

after the oven – ready to devour

I'm really sorry you don't get the waft

of cheese and cream!

my favourite comfort bowl

It's a great way to make use of baked jacket potatoes – as I'm fond of saying, if my oven is turned on I make the best use of the space and so always bake at least four potatoes, sometimes six at a time. All you have to do is peel and slice – what's not to love.

The Alfredo sauce can be made ahead and fridged until ready to use.

It's fast and it's easy – it may not be authentic but if you've not got the time it takes to prep and cook the real deal then this is for you.

The perfect antidote to winter!

Now for the real deal ...

The best way …

... to illustrate assembly is with a photo guide :

thinly sliced cooked jackets – baked at your

convenience, then cooled – peeled and sliced at

your convenience too

here's the dish – greased generously with unsalted

butter and then the roasted garlic, dotted around

my dish is cast iron and measures 24cms/9½” x 17cms/6½”

x 5cms/2” deep

Pre-heat the oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 when you are ready to bake.

you'll get two layers of potato, divide in half, place

the first layer in the bottom of the dish, add a sprinkle

of celery salt and black pepper then spread half the

quantity of Alfredo sauce – repeat!

… the final fotos and the advantages

Let's get a move on!

Weekend suppers should be special but not involve hours of prep and stress. Everyone has a favourite “comfort” ingredient and mine has to be potatoes. Probably my favourite indulgent potato dish is Gratin Dauphinoise - the only trouble is it's a lot of work and takes a long time to cook.

Here's my solution – cheat!

Dauphinoise – the cheats way

3 large jacket potatoes, baked, cooled then

peeled and sliced thinly – as a guide 500g

I used Maris Piper potatoes, they become waxy in texture when baked and are easy to slice thinly and become sticky - easy to arrange.

a sprinkle of celery salt and black pepper

two roasted cloves of garlic

large knob of unsalted butter for greasing

400ml double cream

You'll need a heavy earthenware or cast iron

serving dish

Alfredo Sauce

double the quantities given in the original recipe

50g unsalted butter

400ml double cream

100g freshly grated Parmesan

freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring until the butter has melted, then add the Parmesan.

Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce, season.

This sauce can be made ahead, cooled, boxed and fridged or you can freeze it.

You can adapt this to a plant based recipe using:

50g Flora Plant unsalted butter

400ml Elmlea 100% Plant Double Alternative

to cream

100g Parmesan alternative – for example

Violife Parmesan style

The simple things in life are the best!

To illustrate ...