A scratch meal? Grate idea!
A recipe for Chard gratin
Isn’t it the case that we know instantly that any dish carrying the word ‘gratin’ will be a comforting one, even if ‘gratiné’ is derived from the French for ‘to scratch’. In this endless tail end of winter, we need as much comfort as we can get to see us through these last drab days till daffodils froth the verges. Comfort food reduces feelings of sadness and isolation and despair.
Scientists have attempted to discover why comfort foods are so comforting. Their conclusion is that we make a subliminal association with what we’ve been fed in the past by loving family and friends. When you feel low or lonely or ill, isn’t your mother’s chicken noodle soup more all-round nurturing than a health-pitched plate of steamed fish with broccoli?
Gooey gratins are generally made from sliced root vegetables and traditionally cooked in an oval yellow or brown dish from Berry in central France known as a sabot (a clog).
Gratin Dauphinois is the most famous gratin of all. Along with other potato gratins, it comes from the Vercors, part of the south-eastern Alpine provinces of France of Savoie and what was once called Dauphiné, close to the Italian border. Back in the 12th century, Count Guigues IV of Albon, the local ruler, bore the image of a dolphin (dauphin) on his coat of arms - a quite bad-tempered one by the looks of it - giving him the nickname and eventually the name for the land he owned.
When the royal house of France bought that land, the eldest prince being granted the territory, he adopted its title and became the Dauphin.
Gratins may also be made from pasta or shellfish. They might be baked in a cream sauce, a bechamel sauce or a stock. There is even a glamorous French gratin of Crêpes fourrées - pancakes stuffed with calf’s brain and sorrel then sprinkled with cheese. I’m not so seduced by the recipe to side with it against a regular oozy, creamy, cheesy gratin. The Swedes are big on Jansson’s Temptation, a gratin from the 1940s, possibly named after Pelle Janzon, a 1900s Swedish opera singer, and essential to a Swedish Christmas dinner table. It’s a rich bake of potatoes, cream and anchovies that warms the cockles, soothes the soul.
Like animals, we’re hard-wired to enjoy eating because it leads to our continued survival. Though we lean naturally towards foods that will satisfy our appetite for the longest possible period, there are foods we crave despite their lack of any nutritional value - for their texture (crisps and fries) or their salt (crisps and fries) or for their manufactured sweetness (chocolates, candies, cakes and cookies). Berries and fruit make us feel virtuous. Snacks and confectionery make us feel happy.
Foods high in calories from carbohydrates, sugar, fat, or salt each provide instant gratification. They elevate mood by releasing dopamine into the body and stimulating the brain’s reward system. Cheese is the most satisfying expression of that mix. Toasted cheese and cheese pizza consistently make the lists of Top Ten Favourite Foods. There are those (me) who would pick a cheese omelette over a truffled one and there’s not much that can beat a cauliflower cheese or a Mac-’n-Cheese for boosting our spirits.
This, incidentally, is Chef James Hemings, said to have invented Mac-’n-Cheese. He was the first American to train as a chef in France, accompanying his owner, Thomas Jefferson, there when Jefferson was appointed Minister to France. It wasn’t enough for Thomas Jefferson to be given that role - he also took credit for the dish.
With a gratin, a word that first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1846, it’s the mystic properties of the cheese in the sauce plus the crunch of buttered breadcrumbs in the golden crust covering so many of them that provide the solace.
This gratin recipe, with its saltiness and cheesiness and crunchiness, is deeply comforting while being very filling. Made without the first ingredient on the list, it becomes vegetarian. Kale, Savoy cabbage, or cauliflower or broccoli florets can substitute for the chard. But the chard it is centred around is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Another point in its favour is it’s cheap and quick to make, can be put together in advance, and is delicious.
Serves 4-6
115g/4oz very thinly sliced Parma ham
50g/1¾oz coarse fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
130g/4¼oz cheese - Cheddar or Parmesan, grated (but you can add much more if you wish)
500g/1lb bunch chard (Rainbow chard is prettiest), leaves pulled off, stalks sliced diagonally 2cms/1in wide
355ml/12fl oz milk
155ml/5floz single cream
100g/3½oz butter
65g/2¼oz flour
A light grating of nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 150C/300F.
Place the ham on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until crisp, 5-10 minutes. Cool then snap into pieces.
Raise oven temperature to 200C/390F.
Combine breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Toss over medium heat, until golden brown and crisp. Off heat, add the thyme and 25g/¾oz cheese and season. Mix in the ham pieces if using and set aside.
Blanch the chard stalks in salted water for about 5 minutes then drain and add to a bowl of cold water. Add the leaves to the boiling water and drain as soon as they wilt then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Drain the stalks from the cold water, mix with the leaves and set aside.
Heat the milk and cream to just sizzling. Melt 70g/2½oz butter in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the flour and stir till sandy and gold. Slowly pour in the hot liquid, stirring, till it begins to boil and form a medium-thick bechamel sauce. Beat in the remaining cheese and seasonings.
Butter a gratin dish with the remaining butter. Fold the chard into the sauce, pour into the dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over. Bake for 15-20 minutes till bubbling and gold.