Special birthday wishes are going out to my sister Loretta today on July 25th. Loretta you are a treasure that our family holds dear. We appreciate you as a person, sister, friend, mother and any other function that you hold in your life! You don’t have a bad bone in your body and you never do anything to compromise your kind heart and tender soul, you are one special lady.
Even if Brion & I can’t have a ‘birthday supper’ together with Loretta, I still like to post a meal I think she would enjoy to have on her day.
This is a gourmet take on a classic potato dish. Its creamy, cheesy and comforting but instead of making this gratin with cream, I am using a béchamel sauce made with milk and two cheeses. Gruyere and Parmesan together with parsley, thyme & Dijon mustard give it a lovely flavor which highlight the taste of the leek & salmon.
WE CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTHDAY WITH LOVE, LORETTA!
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- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 4 Tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 45 gm (1/2 cup) Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 50 gm (1/2 cup) Gruyere cheese, grated
- 2 Tbsp fresh, flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 520 gm (4 small) russet potatoes
- 1/2 leek, sliced into thin rounds
- 430 gm WILD fresh salmon, sliced thinly
Ingredients
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- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic, lemon zest & thyme for 2 minutes. Add flour & cook 1 minute, stirring to combine. Remove from heat & gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, then return to the heat & cook, stirring until thickened.
- Add salt, pepper, Dijon mustard & 3/4 cup of the combined parmesan & Gruyere cheese (reserving 1/4 cup) & stir until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat & stir in the parsley & lemon juice.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish lightly with olive oil.
- Wash & pare potatoes (leave the skin on if you prefer). Slice very thinly; place one sliced potato in a layer on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping slightly.
- Arrange one third of the sliced leek & salmon evenly on top, then spoon one quarter of the cheese sauce over all. Repeat the layers with the remaining potatoes, leek & salmon, finishing with the final layer of potato & topping with the last quarter of the cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup grated cheese. Cover with foil & bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil & bake for a further 30 minutes. Allow the gratin to stand 10 minutes before serving.
- If your making this for a 'special' occasion, you may want to make them in individual servings as I did in the picture. I used 5-inch round pans with removeable bottoms & lined them with parchment paper so they couldn't leak.