Mary Berry’s Celeriac and Leek Gratin
Mary Berry reinvents the classic potato gratin with celeriac and leek to create a brilliant side dish for a Sunday roast.
From the book
Mary Berry Everyday
120 simple yet delicious recipes for everyday cooking
All the recipes from the BBC TV series
Classic favourites the whole family will enjoy
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Introduction
Creamy and delicious, this is a bit different from the standard gratin dauphinois. Celeriac has a more distinctive flavour than potato, which gives this dish more character. It is just as tender, though, with a slight bite and additional texture from the chunky pieces of soft leek.
Ingredients
| butter or oil, for greasing | |
| 3 | leeks, cut into 2cm (¾in) slices |
| 500g (1lb 2oz) | celeriac (about 1 small) |
| 300ml (10fl oz) | pouring double cream |
| 300ml (10fl oz) | milk |
| 100g (4oz) | Gruyère cheese, grated |
| 50g (2oz) | coarse fresh white breadcrumbs |
| About ½ tsp | paprika |
| salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Method
You will need a 2-litre (3½-pint) wide-based ovenproof dish. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and grease the dish with a little butter or oil.
Cook the leek slices in boiling salted water for 5 minutes or until just soft. Drain well and dry on kitchen paper.
Peel the celeriac with a sharp knife and then cut into ultra-thin slices (see tip). Arrange half over the base of the prepared dish. Mix the cream and milk together in a jug and season with salt and pepper. Pour half over the celeriac and then scatter with half the grated cheese. Arrange the cooked leeks on top, followed by the remaining celeriac in an even layer. Pour over the remaining cream mixture and season again with salt and pepper.
Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, the breadcrumbs and paprika. Return to the oven (without the foil) and cook for further 20 minutes until bubbling and golden on top and the celeriac is tender.
Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Prepare ahead: Can be cooked up to 8 hours ahead and reheated in a hot oven to serve (see also tip).
Mary’s Everyday Tips: If you want to make the dish ahead, but not cook it, blanch the celeriac slices in boiling water for about 3 minutes with the leeks. Cooking the celeriac a little will prevent the slices from going brown. Use a mandolin or the fine cutter of a food processor to speed up the slicing process for thin uniform slices of celeriac. This cuts down the preparation time significantly.
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