Willie Scannell’s Gratin of Potato and Wild Mushrooms
If you have a few wild mushrooms eg. chantrelles or field mushrooms, mix them with ordinary mushrooms for this gratin. If you can find flat mushroom, all the better. One way or the other the gratin will still be delectable.
1½ lb (700g) ‘old’ potatoes, eg. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks
2 lb (225g/4 cups) mushrooms, cultivated mushrooms, or a mixture of cultivated mushrooms, brown mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and shitake
butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pint (300ml/13 cups) light cream
3 tablesp. grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), or Irish mature Cheddar cheese
10” ovenproof gratin dish
Slice the mushrooms. Peel the potatoes and slice thinly. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the potato slices to the boiling water. As soon as the water returns to the boil, drain the potatoes. Refresh under cold water. Drain again and arrange on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
Grease a shallow gratin dish generously with butter and sprinkle the garlic over it. Arrange half the potatoes in the bottom of the dish, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover with the sliced mushrooms. Season again and finish off with a final layer of overlapping potatoes.
Bring the cream almost to boiling point and pour over the potatoes.
Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 12 hours approx at 180C/350F/regulo 4, until the gratin becomes crisp and golden brown with the cream bubbling up around the edges.
This gratin is terrifically good with a pangrilled lamb chop or a piece of steak.
