Who’d have thought that I’d spend October working my way through more than a hundred pounds of tomatoes? Or that this would be the month when we’d finally be enjoying full plates of them with a splash of balsamic and a bit of salt and pepper? Not me.
It’s all tomatoes all the time around here. So far there’s been 17 quarts of diced tomatoes, 14.5 pints of tomato sauce and 3 pints of sun dried tomatoes. There’s another full pot of 25 pounds of tomatoes on the stove now, cooking down into sauce. And at least another 50 pounds in the garage.
In other news, we’ve been eating pretty locally, if not too fancy. Recent highlights have included omelets, butternut squash mac & cheese (yum!), pasta with fresh tomato sauce and last nights potato and leek gratin.
Of all of them, I think last night’s gratin was my favorite. I started with an Bon Appetite recipe and then modified it to fit what we had on hand. The only thing I’d change was the ratio of cream to chicken stock - I’d go 3:1 next time instead of 1:1. And really, it’s even better tonight than it was last night.
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Potato, Leek, Mushroom and Bacon Gratin
based on a Bon Appetite recipe
4 Tbs butter
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium leeks, sliced thin
1.5 cups chicken stock (I’d decrease this to 1 cup)
1.5 cups cream (I’d up this to 2 1/4 cups)
3 pounds russet type potatoes, sliced thin
2 cups Gruyere cheese (shredded)
Cook the bacon in a saute pan until just crispy. Remove to a bowl. Add 1 tbs butter to bacon fat and then add mushrooms. Saute until soft and starting to turn color. Remove to bowl with bacon. Add 3 remaining tbs butter and add leeks. Saute until just starting to color and soft. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add to bowl with bacon and mushrooms.
Combine stock and cream in another bowl.
Butter a 9″x9″ oven safe casserole or pan. Layer half of potatoes in bottom. Cover with mushroom mixture. Top with 1/2 of the cheese and a bit of salt and pepper. Add half of the cream/stock mixture. Layer in the rest of the potatoes and lightly salt and pepper. Top with remaining cheese. Pour over the remaining cream/stock.
Put in oven at 400 F and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft and top is golden brown.
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Have you signed up for the 08/09 Dark Days of Winter Eat Local Challenge yet?
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Thank you for sharing your recipe…it sounds fantastic! (And I have tomato envy, just for the record. I think I have about 10 pounds of little green Romas and Early Girls ripening in a Nordstrom bag in the garage, and that’s all I have to show for Tomato Garden 2008.
I would guess I ended up with around 50+ pounds of tomatoes this year. I can only imagine having double or more.
I’m throwing fresh tomatoes in everything these days. We are lovers of caprese, and other simple tomato Italian dishes the great grandmother’s loved.
The Potato,Leek,Mushroom, and Bacon Gratin sounds like a winner. I love Bon Apetite. Thanks for sharing.
Amy - sorry about your tomatoes. Enjoy the recipe!
Anita - yeah, we have just a few too many this year. Oh well, we’ll plant fewer next year.