THE ART OF FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER

As winter begins to bite, curl up with a hearty potato gratin, sweetened with a little dry cider

It’s going to be a hunkering down sort of weekend. One for bundled up walks and nights in front of the telly. My weather app says there’s a 70 per cent chance of snow. It’ll inevitably turn to rain but still, it’s the time of year for some hearty food, and where better to start than a really good potato bake?

There are endless ways to approach a gratin. Often I’ll go down the traditional, dauphinoise route, baking layers of potato with cream, butter, garlic and nutmeg. Sometimes, I’ll opt for more of a boulangère, cooking onions and potatoes in stock, often underneath a joint of roasting meat so the dish of potatoes catches the juices.

For this dish – which works just as well for a side as a main, perhaps with a salad of bitter leaves or some simple steamed or sautéed cabbage – I wanted some autumnal sweetness from a bottle of dry cider.

The cheesy crumb on top makes it feel more substantial, but the potatoes work well just cooked in the buttery cider and mustard. I used a rye sourdough for the topping, which was particularly tasty because of the caraway seeds flecked through the bread, but you could use any other sturdy loaf and add half a teaspoon of caraway seeds if you fancy that flavour. You could add some fried lardons or ham hock, too, layering them with the potatoes. And if you’re serving this dish as a side, why not cook a couple of thick pork chops and make a quick creamy mustard sauce?

Whatever you choose, I love the smell of cider cooking, and this is going to fill your kitchen with the most comforting scent.