A BALANCED DISH: This gratin lets swiss chard do the talking»
I am routinely asked to explain how a certain dish came about: What was the process that made me combine this particular set of ingredients in that particular way? The truth is, more often than not, I don’t have an answer. I simply don’t know.
It is the ingredients that are in control, not I.
This potato, Swiss chard and sumac onion gratin is a good example. As far as dishes go, it’s hard to find one less in need of fixing or rebalancing than the old gratin dauphinois. The French nailed the potato gratin right from the word “go,” taking three ingredients — potatoes, butter and milk or cream (plus some basic seasonings) — and reaching creamystarchy flawlessness. There is really no reason to mess about with this one.
Call in Swiss chard, an age-old disrupter. Looking at dishes where I’ve used chard in the past, it’s hard to ignore a pattern: if cheese, cream or yogurt are involved, you are likely to find chard in some shape or form; a bulky, carby mass — ditto. Chard stalks and leaves, available year-round, tend to just come up naturally every time I am about to cook something rich and dairyladen or something hearty and bulky.
What makes them so perfect for such contexts are their naturally sharp, almost metallic notes, and an echo of the soil, similar to what you get with beets, which are members of the same family. While planning to try a Comté pie with crispy polenta crust about a decade ago — a recipe I adore to this day — I must have had chard shouting out my name, saying, “without me, things are just going to be too rich.”
Though spinach works well in many of these dishes, and is often cited as substitute to chard, it hasn’t got the flavor or the body to quite match the chardy impact.
With such a long history
— both globally and in my modest kitchen — it is no wonder that Swiss chard came to mind when it was time to have another look at the age-old, creamy potato gratin. Paired with sumac, a spice with intense tartness and, like chard, surefire appeal, the French classic hasn’t been improved by chard, really, but rather transformed into a whole different kettle of fish (or rather, potato). Yes, the starchy, velvety texture is still there, as is the adorable whiff of butter and cream, but the whole thing has been turned on its head with an earthy, sharp, fresh punch that is as seductive as the original.
And what did I have to do with all this? Less than you’d imagine. It’s the Swiss chard that’s been calling the shots.
Potato Gratin With Swiss Chard and Sumac Onions
Yield: 6 to 8 servings Total time: 2½ hours
Ingredients
FOR THE SUMAC ONIONS:
¼ cup olive oil
1½ pounds red onions, peeled, halved and sliced about 1centimeter thick
Kosher salt
1½ tablespoons dried sumac
FOR THE GRATIN:
2½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (skin-on), sliced using a mandoline or very thinly sliced into rounds 1¾ pounds green Swiss chard, leaves torn from stems (stems reserved for another use) and roughly shredded (about 6 packed cups) M cup roughly chopped fresh parsley, plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley for garnish
6 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus ¼ cup juice (from 2 lemons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper
8 ounces mature cheddar,
roughly grated (about 3 cups) 1 cup chicken or vegetable
stock
3 tablespoons heavy cream
(double cream)
FOR THE BROWN-BUTTER PINE NUTS:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup (65 grams) pine nuts Kosher salt
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Directions
Prepare the onions: Add the oil to a large, ovenproof lidded skillet and heat over mediumhigh. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt to the hot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the sumac and remove from the heat. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Prepare the gratin: Add the potatoes, shredded chard, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to a large bowl and mix well to combine. Fold through three-quarters of the sumac onions and half the cheese, then transfer everything to the skillet, smoothing out the top to even out the potato slices. In a measuring cup or bowl, combine the stock, cream and lemon juice, and pour this all over the potato mixture. Cover tightly with foil, then top with the lid. Bake for 1 hour.
Remove the gratin from the oven, and remove the lid and foil. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, until golden and bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let gratin settle for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the pine nuts: Add the butter to a medium skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the pine nuts and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are golden and the butter has browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the buttered nuts to the bowl with the remaining sumac onions.
When ready to serve, stir the extra parsley into the sumac onion mixture and spoon this all over the gratin.