Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Jansen's Temptation





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I knew nothing of April Bloomfield until I began to work my way through the Gourmet Live list of Women Game Changers in Food last year. At that time she was executive chef of the Breslin and the Spotted Pig in New York City, and I decided to make the ricotta pancakes that had helped to make her eclectic style of cooking famous. I loved the pancakes, as did my family, so I began to clip her recipes whenever I came across one that could be made in a home kitchen. I tend to do a lot of Scandinavian cooking at this time of year, and in that stash of recipes I had been collecting was one for Jansen's Temptation, a Swedish potato gratin that is made with heavy cream and anchovies. I made the dish this past weekend and was really pleased with the results. As is my habit, first time through, a recipe is always made to the developer's specification. Theme and variation are saved for later performances. This is a delicious dish, but next time I prepare it, I'll use light cream or half-and-half to make the cream base in which the potatoes cook. While I found the gratin to be overly rich, the Silver Fox loved it, so, despite its creamy excess, it will again appear on my table, though in a somewhat lightened form. The flavor of the infused cream, which contains onions, anchovies and fennel, is a wonderful and the dish is not difficult to make. I hope you will give this remarkable recipe a try. I think you will be delighted with this Swedish classic. Here's how Jansen's Temptation is made.

Jansen's Temptation...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of April Bloomfield

Ingredients:
2 cups cream
3 cloves garlic, quartered
2 tablespoons thyme, plus a little extra for garnish
1-3/4 ounces anchovy fillets, plus 4 extra for garnish
2/3 teaspoon ground fennel
4 tablespoons butter
2 peeled onions, sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 to 6 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into sixths
Bread crumbs, as needed

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2) To prepare cream base, bring cream, garlic, thyme, anchovies, and fennel to a boil. Remove from heat and let ingredients infuse for 10 minutes. Once cooled, purée in blender until smooth.
3) In a medium sauté pan add 2 tablespoons butter. Add onions and cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add salt and remaining butter and continue cooking until onions are very soft, but not brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve until assembly.
4) Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Heavily season water with salt and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes until very tender (there should be no resistance when pierced with a knife), about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size of potatoes. Strain and set aside.
5) Assemble dish by placing a layer of cooked potatoes wedges in bottom of a 9-inch gratin dish. Follow with a layer made with half the onions. Top with remaining potato wedges and finally, remaining onions. Pour cream over layers until dish is full, and almost overflowing.
6) Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and fresh thyme. Top with 4 anchovy fillets and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to rest a minute or two, but serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.








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12 comments :

Katarina said...

This dish reminds me of my childhood. We had this always on the Christmas table or on New Year's Eve. Have a great day!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This looks wonderful! I tried potato gratin once and did not have luck with it. Well, it takes almost two hours at 450 just to bake a potato here!

Alicia Foodycat said...

I haven't seen this way of doing it before - I've made it with sliced potatoes in the past. This looks delicious (and needs less cream, which has to be a good thing!).

Susan..... said...

You could easily use the same recipe with a substitution of cauliflower and it would be just as good....hmmmm, maybe I should try it with the cauliflower, which is a wonderful sub for diabetics and low carb diets.
Thanx for the inspiration once again.

Kim said...

This looks like a lovely gratin. I to tend to substitue light cream to heavy in gratin. Otherwise I think it's too rich!

Mark Strong said...

I love Jansens temptation, though if you can find Swedish anchovies it is a very different dish. They are no where near as salty and change the flavor quite a bit.

Sue/the view from great island said...

Thanks, Mary, I just love to come across recipes like this that I've never heard of before. I love all the ingredients, and don't know enough about Swedish food.

Rachel said...

What an unusual sounding dish! I'm not big on creamy gratins but with a slightly lighter sauce i'd totally be on board with this!

Claudia said...

My mother in her later years started bringing over gratins similar to this - surprising and rich and delectable. I love how the Game Changers have influenced all of us and I thank you for that. I do love fennel in a gratin - it's a happy surprise.

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

Have a lovely Christmas Mary! I'm sure you won't be lacking on glorious food!
Duncan In Kuantan

Susan Lindquist said...

What a wonderful dish, Mary! I'm wondering ... what (if any) meat dish did you serve with this dish?

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

France@beyondthepeel said...

SO not what I expected, anchovies, fennel and cream. It sounds delicious though. I'm with you on using lighter cream, I'll give that a try.

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