Paper Palate

Last weekend I was planning a meal for a crowd, and turned to the March 2006 issue of Fine Cooking for inspiration. I had a few prerequisites: I didn’t want to spend a fortune on ingredients, I needed food that could be prepared in advance, leaving me time to socialize and I wanted a hearty meal that could feed between 6 and 10 people, depending on how many made it to the party.

Two of the recipes in Fine Cooking actually fit all these requirements perfectly – the Red Wine Marinated Braised Short Ribs and the Winter Greens Gratin. I served them with bread and couscous and the meal was a tremendous success.

Winter Greens Gratin

This gratin recipe can be made with Swiss chard, kale, spinach or broccoli raab, depending on what you have lurking around in the fridge. Somehow, this gratin is better than it rightfully should be considering the simple ingredients and quick preparation. I don’t know how it got so good, it’s full of the normal stuff, like heavy cream, cheese, breadcrumbs and a little bacon. It isn’t overly cheesy or dense, but has a deep rich flavor that brings out the taste of the greens.

(This recipe purports to serve four as a side dish. Doubled, it was perfect for six. I’d make extras, I’m sure it would be delicious leftover.)

Ingredients:

2 T unsalted butter
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
2 ½ oz bacon (about 3 strips) or 1 ½ oz thinly sliced pancetta
2 cups cooked winter greens, well drained and roughly chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or other hard cheese of your choice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt 1 T butter and toss it in a bowl with the breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper, set aside. Bring the cream and garlic to a boil over medium high, lower heat and simmer until the cream reduces to about ¾ cup (4 – 8 minutes). Remove from heat, discard garlic cloves, and let cream cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Cook the bacon or pancetta in a large skillet until crispy and brown, remove from pan to drain. Pour off most, but not all, of the excess fat from the skillet, return to medium heat, add 1 T butter and the cooked greens (seasoning with ¼ tsp salt if using bacon) and cook, stirring, for one minute. Transfer greens to a gratin dish and spread evenly. Crumble the bacon over the greens, sprinkle on the cheese, pour the seasoned cream over the top and top with the breadcrumbs. Bake until brown and bubbly (about 25 minutes) and let cool for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

In a future post, look for the Red Wine Braised Short Rib recipe, as well as a report on how the guests enjoyed them!