Serves: 4 - Time:
A gratin, like this tasty little number, is rather a treat. I can’t deny it is quite rich so I would keep everything else you serve with it as simple as possible. My perfect accompaniment is a chicken, preferably brined and simply roasted. And roast potatoes of course. As you can make it in advance and just stick it in the oven for the last 20-25 minutes it makes life very easy. I might even serve it as the main dish with a few roasted tomatoes to cut through the richness.
Ingredients
- 2 x 320g bags young spinach
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 150g smoked lardons or smoked pancetta cubes
- 300g jar baby artichokes in oil, drained and patted dry
- 70g comté cheese, grated
- 300ml double cream
- 150ml crème fraiche
- 30g panko crumbs
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°c, fan 180°c, mark 6. Heat a large saucepan and add the spinach (you may need to cook it in batches). Cook until it wilts down –stirring regularly. Tip into a colander and leave to cool. If you have a microwave, open the bags of spinach and cook on high in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible and roughly chop. Season the spinach with salt and ground black pepper.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the lardons for 5-6 minutes until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and then mix into the spinach. Spread out into an ovenproof dish. Cut the artichokes in half and arrange over the spinach. Sprinkle over 50g of the cheese. Mix the double cream with the crème fraiche and pour over the vegetables. Mix the panko crumbs with the remaining 20g cheese and scatter over the surface of the dish. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
