Spring vegetable, ricotta, herby leek & chard gratin
Author: Anna Hedworth
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- For the infused cream:
- 300ml double cream
- 1 strip of lemon zest
- ½tsp fennel seeds
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 1 thyme sprig
- 1 shallot, quartered and peeled
- parsley stalks
- 6 peppercorns
- ½tsp Maldon sea salt
- For the herby leeks:
- 30g salted butter
- 2 large leeks, sliced lengthways and washed, then chopped
- handful of finely chopped dill fronds, plus extra to serve
- handful of finely chopped tarragon leaves, plus extra to serve
- ¼tsp grated nutmeg
- squeeze of lemon juice
- For the spring vegetables:
- 50g chard, stems chopped into 5mm pieces, leaves kept whole
- 50g asparagus, chopped into 5mm lengths
- 50g broad beans, podded weight
- 50g frozen peas, defrosted
- For the ricotta:
- 300g ricotta
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
- salt and pepper
- For the topping:
- olive oil
- a handful of sourdough
- breadcrumbs
- Maldon sea salt
Method
- I pop four gratins on the hob to start them off; we use very heavy skillets in the restaurant, and they can use a little help getting from fridge temperature on a busy night. The cream starts to bubble, and it is ready to go in the oven. I like this dish in the spring months – fresh enough to give you hope with its bursts of tarragon, asparagus and peas but warming enough with its creamy breadcrumb crust to take the chill off a cold evening.
- To infuse the cream, put it in a pan with all the flavouring ingredients and bring to a slow boil, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.
- For the leeks, melt the butter in a second pan and add the leeks with a generous pinch of salt. Stir every so often to stop them catching; they need to cook until all the water has gone and they have become soft and sweet. At this point add the chopped herbs, nutmeg and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste to check the leeks have enough salt and lemon – they should taste buttery but bright.
- Preheat the oven to 180C fan/200C/Gas 6. Combine the chard stems (reserve the leaves) with the asparagus, broad beans and peas in a bowl. Use a separate small bowl to blend the ricotta with the lemon zest and juice and salt and pepper.
- To assemble the gratin, oil a large tray approximately 20 x 30cm or 4 individual gratin dishes. Add a layer of chard leaves to the base, a layer of leeks, a layer of ricotta, then the chopped vegetables. Add a couple of ladlefuls of the cream, then press everything down to compact and submerge, and end on a layer of leaves. Ladle over the remaining cream and top with a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt and oil. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Serve topped with fresh chopped dill and tarragon and a sharp herby salad on the side.
