Lucas Hollweg - Good Things to Eat
This book’s a keeper. I bought it about eight years ago and it’s starting to look convincingly battered on my bookshelf. Some people say if you use eight recipes out of a cookbook, it’s a winner. I’ve done about 15 from this book and the one I’m cooking today has been consistently wowing punters over all that time.
‘Beetroot and potato gratin’ although I call it a dauphinoise is on page 90, I think the picture sold it to me. If you ever want to taste with your eyes, this is the dish to start with, but it’s an unforgettable taste for the taste buds and marries particularly well with a roast, butterflied, marinated leg of lamb and blanched, then sautéed greens.
It’s a great centre piece for the dining table, which guests are reluctant to pass round, spooning large helpings and seconds onto their plates, whilst helping their fellow diners to imperceptibly smaller portions. I take the dish a stage further by cooking it the day before, letting it cool then pressing in the fridge overnight. The next day turn it out onto a board (make sure you lined the tin with greaseproof paper before you started), trim the edges all round then cut it into portion sizes. You’ll be looking at small rectangular blocks of striated cream and purple layers. Put the portions onto a lined baking sheet, then put into the oven to warm through, about half an hour at 180 before serving.
Lucas was actually our first ever guest chef and I remember writing at the time that as he doesn’t have a restaurant, then the only chance of eating his food was to come to Bread and Flowers or wait for an invite to his house in London, frankly an unlikely prospect. Well the good news is he’s no longer in London, he moved to Somerset with his lovely gal Lucie about a year ago and has been ‘popping up’ at Hauser and Wirth amongst other places to cook for the locals.
He’ll even cook for you if you want him to, he’ll do groups between 12 – 60 people so if you’re interested, get in touch lucas.hollweg@btinternet.com He’s a genius in the kitchen, really knows about food, ingredients, provenance and seasonality and as a recent judge on the Guild of Fine Food, ‘Great Taste Awards’ also knows where to track down some interesting produce for you to try.
Not wishing to do myself out of a job but I would really recommend Lucas as a great, go to cook especially for really special occasions. He’s based near Castle Cary, so only 45 minutes away.
Beetroot and potato gratin
A raunchy dauphinoise with earthy flavour and
startling colour. It ends up not beetroot purple,
as you might expect, but a deep autumnal russet.
It’s a good thing to go with a ballsy roast, though
I’d devour it just as it is, with a salad on the side.
For four people
• 500g (1lb 2oz) beetroot
• 500g (1lb 2oz) floury potatoes, such as King
Edward
• 300ml (10fl oz) double cream
• 200ml (7fl oz) whole milk
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• Sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Peel the beetroot and potatoes and slice both
thinly as possible – you want them skinny, so
they cook evenly. Use the slicing blade of a food
processor or a mandolin, making sure you have
enough perfect rounds of beetroot to cover the top.
Mix the cream and milk with the garlic and
the leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme.
Season well, then put a thin layer of the cream
mixture in the bottom of a gratin dish, 23 x 23cm
(9 x 9in) and layer the potato and beetroot on
top, seasoning each layer well as you go.
Finish with a neat layer of overlapping beetroot
slices, then pour the remaining cream mixture
over the top and press the vegetables down into
it with your fingers.
Lay the 2 remaining sprigs of thyme on top.
Put in the oven and cook for 1 hour, pushing the
top layer under the cream again halfway through.
Poke the vegetables with a knife to check
they are soft and give them longer if necessary.
Remove from the oven, then leave to settle and
cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.