Beetroot and Celeriac Gratin

I often have a hankering for a creamy potato dish on the side of a roast. It’s only (CB’s) better judgement that stops me. This Christmas, I wanted something a bit special.

This recipe would work with potatoes but try beetroot and celeriac for something different. This was the first time we have cooked with celeriac and the strong celery-like smell alarmed us. Luckily, some cheese and over half a litre of cream fixed this right up.

This one isn’t specific to Christmas. Make it throughout the winter season but do yourself a favour and put it away once spring gets here. There is nothing summery about all this double cream.

Serve with a big family meal. I would suggest something salty like our Coke Ham recipe and some crispy roast potatoes and wash it down will plenty of mulled wine, cider or apple juice. Delicious!

Adapted from this Ottolenghi recipe.

Serves 8-10 as a side dish

Ingredients

600ml double cream
1 large onion
8 whole cloves
Rind of 1 lemon
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
20g thyme, stems and leaves separated
1tsp salt
1tsp white pepper (black will do in a pinch)
700-900g celeriac, sliced thinly
600g cooked beetroot, sliced thinly
200g cheddar
125g mozzarella

Method

1. Add all of the ingredients down to the white pepper to a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until the contents come to a gentle boil. Move off the heat and infuse for 10-20 minutes.
2. Layer the ingredients like a lasagne – root vegetables then cream then cheese and thyme leaves. Repeat this until all of the ingredients are finished but hold back the final cheese and thyme. Make sure that in each layer, the vegetables are tightly packed and completely covered in cream.
3. Bake the dish at 180 degrees for an hour then remove. Add the remaining cheese and thyme leaves and put back in the oven for a remaining 20 minutes until the top is browned and bubbling. Serve immediately.