Tonight’s recipe

Cider gratin potatoes with cheesy rye crumb

SERVES TWO AS A MAIN, THREE AS A SIDE INGREDIENTS

80g butter

A large brown onion, finely sliced

520ml dry cider

A couple of thyme sprigs 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 490g potatoes, very finely sliced (floury, not waxy) A little nutmeg, grated 60g rye sourdough (or white sourdough + ½ tsp caraway seeds), crusts removed 45g cheddar, coarsely grated 1 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

Set a small frying pan over a low/medium heat with the butter. Once it’s melted, add the onion with a big pinch of salt. Fry for 10 minutes, or until the onion has softened and started to brown a little. Set aside. (If you’re using bacon or lardons or some other kind of pork, fry it off with the onions once they’ve had a couple of minutes cooking on their own).

Pour the cider into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the thyme sprigs and a big pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for two minutes. Whisk in the mustard and cook for another minute.

Start layering the potatoes in your gratin dish, alternating layers of potato with layers of sweated onion. Season each layer with salt and a little grated nutmeg.

Pour over the hot cider. It should come all the way up the gratin dish and almost (but not quite) cover the potatoes.

Put foil over the dish and bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and cook for another 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, break the bread into pieces. You want small, uneven chunks, not crumbs. Mix them with the cheese and olive oil in a bowl.

Turn the heat up to 250C/gas 9 and bake for another 15 minutes, or until everything is bubbling and the cheese and bread is golden brown.