Thursday, February 08, 2007

Baby, it's cold outside: a creamy salmon and potato gratin

I'm sitting in my office at work with a large mug of hot tea to keep me warm. It is -17 Celsius outside (1 Fahreinheit, I believe) and I'm trying not to think that I'm supposed to step outside in half an hour to meet a friend and check out a new creperie that has opened its doors near our university. It's freezing cold. But it's also incredibly beautiful - everything is covered with a thick, pure white snow blanket, and the sun is shining amazingly brightly - if briefly. Quite appropriately for such a chilly time of the year then, the Nordic food magazines provide recipes for filling and heart-warming casserole dishes and stews. The recipe for a creamy salmon and potato gratin is adapted from the Finnish Ruokamaailma. We had it on Monday night, together with some salad leaves and cucumber slices..

Salmon and potato gratin
(Lõhevormiroog)
Serves 6



500 grams salmon fillet
0.5 tsp salt
1 onion or a small leek
oil
1,5 kg potatoes, sliced
a handful of fresh dill, chopped

To cover:
3 eggs
300 ml single cream
300 ml milk
1 tsp salt
0.25 tsp white pepper

Remove the skin and small bones from the fish, season with salt and cut into smaller slices.
Peel and slice the onion, fry gently in some oil. If using leeks, then cut in half, rinse and slice thinly.
Peel the potatoes or scrub thoroughly. Slice thinly.
Grease the oven dish with oil, cover with half of the potato slices.
Now place the fish slices, fried onions/leeks and dill on top. Cover with the rest of the potato slices.
Mix the eggs, milk and cream, season and pour over the potatoes.
Bake at 175Celsius for one hour, until potatoes are tender, and the top layer has browned and crisped nicely.

Serve with a salad.

6 comments:

Thredahlia said...

Lõhe ja kartuli kooslus meeldib mulle ka sooja ilmaga. Lõhevorm kõlab küll väga ahvatlevalt, eriti enne lõunapausi :P

Veab, et ainult Tallinnas ainult -17°C on. Mina ootasin bussi hommikul -26°C-ga, aga kõik elutarvilikud jubinad jäid külge.
Ingveriteed ja külma ilma sööke kulub heldelt :P

Anonymous said...

You know what is funny? This is absolutely my type of weather! Love it! With a gratin of that type, it is even better

Anonymous said...

Ei tea,kas l6he saaks asendada nt tursaga?

Thredahlia said...

Mul sai eelmises postituses üks "ainult" üleliia :P
Aga seda vormi pidin kohe täna proovima. Pisike ahvipärdik olen.
Sibula asemel kasutasin porrut - meeldib vormides rohkem. Oi, kui maitsev sai. Nautisin ise ja kiita sain veel takkaotsa :)

Jeanne said...

Mmmm, that looks wonderful - kind of like an Estonian take on traditional fish pie?? Proper comfort food!

Pille said...

Thredahlia - seda küll. Aga selline kreemjas tummine ahjuvorm sobis ka talveõhtul nagu rusikas silmaauku:) Muide - kasutasin ka ise porrut, lihtsalt seda on hetkel majapidamises palju..

Bea - I wasn't complaining! After seven years of dark, snow-less and rainy Scottish winters, I'm enjoying these proper snowy ones. The only problem is that I haven't got a suitable winter wardrobe - i'm using light knee-long coat I bought in Scotland, and it's definitely not warm enough!!

Ülle - kilttursaga (haddock) kindlasti. Siis võid tilli asemel nt peterselli proovida!

Jeanne - yep, that's a good way to describe it:)