Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Chèvre gratinated Asparagus and Potatoes

chevregratinated sparris

I've mentioned that Per has started to cook more frequently for me (well, he cooks a lot, but he's gradually getting into more fancy food) and here's another dish that he has cooked recently. It's a delicious side dish of chèvre gratinated asparagus and potatoes. It could even be a veggie main dish, or perfect for a buffet-style spread. Chèvre, goat's cheese, is one of my favorite ingredients ever, and it goes especially well with umami-tasting ingredients like beets or asparagus. Umami is often called the fifth flavor, in addition to sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and present in many foods. (Read more at Umami Information Center.)

Now, for the dish. It's from Per's favorite cookbook - Mera Fredagsgourmet från Allt om Mat, a collection of perfect Friday night dishes from a popular Swedish food magazine.

Chèvre gratinated Asparagus and Potatoes
Serves 2

200 g potatoes - new if you can get them
300 g fresh asparagus - green and white (the white has to be peeled)
250 ml single cream (about 20% fat)
200 g chèvre cheese
salt
black pepper

Boil the potatoes until just done. Briefly boil the asparagus in salted water, and immediately transfer to a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking. Put the vegetables in an oven-proof dish.

Bring the cream to a boil, and let it reduce for a couple of minutes. Crumble the cheese into the cream, but reserve some to sprinkle on top of the dish. Add salt and pepper to the cream, and mix well.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables, and crumble over reserved cheese. Put the dish in your oven with the grill element on the highest setting, just for a few minutes until the cheese turns golden.

Great as a side dish with grilled meat or chicken.

Recipe in Swedish:
Getostgratinerad sparris och potatis

10 comments:

Kevin said...

Anne,
That looks great, and thanks for the umami link.

Anonymous said...

Ska börja testa lite av dina recept, de som funkar. (Är vegetarian). Jag undrar om du kanske vet något om en efterätt så typisk i svenska hem; nämligen sockerkakan.

När jag var 10 år nånstans åt jag en sockerkaka som var gudomlig. Det var nog ett helt vanligt sockerkaksrecept, men det var en "glasyr" med. Efter kakan var bakt så stack man hål i den runt om i cirkeln med jämna mellanrum, varpå man hällde någon slags glasyr över den som sögs in. Kakan blev saftigare (oc förmodligen onyttigare). Jag undrar om du vet något recept för den glasyren? Den var alltså smörig eller sådär och sögs upp av kakan, och ingen traditionell glasyr som låg ovanpå... Är det kanske bara smör o lite lite florsocker?

Mangomoussen skall testas snarast!

Anne said...

Hej Nathalie! Faktum är att det i amerikansk kakbakning är jättevanligt att man dränker in kakan med en slags glasyr, eller kanske snarare en sirap eller sockerlag, efter att man bakar den. Om du vill experimentera skulle jag börja med en helt vanlig sockerlag - hälften socker hälften vatten (vikt) och så koka upp, koka i ca tio minuter. Smör tror jag inte det är, alls, det är det i alla fall inte i de recept jag läser. (Håller på att plöja "The Cake Bible" som innehåller massor av sånt här.) Däremot ofta några matskedar likör. Lovar att testa i framtiden, men vet inte riktigt när det blir tillfälle :)

Anonymous said...

ooooh! anne! this is decedent and totally dreamy. this dish makes me swoon...cheese, asparagus, potatoes, and cream. i don't really know if there's a better combination.

Anonymous said...

Hello Anne,

Goat's cheese is high on my list too. One time we had this wonderful combination of cheese, potatoes, mango, reduced balsamic vinegar and red chillies in a restaurant and later copied it at home (with success). This sounds to me as the next here to stay goats cheese dish!

Rachael Narins said...

Yummy! Beautiful photo too. And thanks for the Umami link!

Karen said...

I made these last night for Valentine's dinner. It was wonderful. I love easy dishes that seem impressive.

I am glad I stumbled upon your site and I will be checking back for new ideas. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Det där låter jättesmarrigt! Perfekt för en icke-köttätare som jag. Lägger du i potatisarna som de är eller skär du dem i mindre bitar?

Anne said...

Thanks for all the comments! :) Karen, I'm so happy to hear that it worked out for Valentine's! :)

Tino - vi delade de lite större potatisarna, men man kan gott låta de vara hela i den här. Själv längtar jag tills färskpotatisen kommer, då blir det här ännu godare...

Anonymous said...

Hello Anne,
for our dinner last night, I tried your recipe and it was excellent. I was able to purchase white Asparagus from Chile.
I break the ends off the white asparagus stalks like the green variety, no peeling necessary.
Voila, easy to do and delicious recipe.
Thanks...
cheers from Canada