Potato, Cabbage and Kale Gratin





Here is one of our very fierce cats in his new favorite nap spot.  He doesn't mind if the sink is wet and if I turn on the faucet just a little, he will oblige me and move after a couple of minutes.

  

This was the first weekend in recent memory where we didn’t have too many plans.  Although I did have an errand list about a mile long, I also wanted to see where the days would take us.  In truth, the two days didn’t take us  far from our various tasks, some more pleasant than others.   Stocking up on bulk groceries – fun.  Cleaning out the mouse traps from our storage unit – less fun.  This actually filled us both with a lot of sadness.  We tried to use our kitties to scare the mice away but unfortunately, we’ve spoiled the cats too much.  They love yoghurt and cheddar cheese, but we have failed to unleash their predatory instincts.  I would feel better about a mouse killed by my cat, where the mouse had somewhat of a sporting chance.  The traps just seem barbaric. 

In between the grimmer parts of the weekend, there were a lot of sweet, quiet moments with Noah.  Baking granola, taking an early morning walk through the city, cooking yummy brunches on both days, spending time feeling our baby kick, doing a nice yoga class together.  On Saturday night, I made a potato, cabbage, and kale gratin with veggies from our CSA box (very good) and we watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (mediocre).  A dish described in our CSA newsletter in inspired this recipe.  Please note that my measurements for this recipe are approximations. 

Ingredients

1 pound baby spring potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into ¼ inch pieces.

1 head of kale, stemmed and chopped

1 small head of green cabbage (I used a Wakefield cabbage, which is smaller than your typical green cabbage.  Depending on the size, you may want to consider using half.)

1 small onion

2 eggs

1 cup of whole milk yoghurt

¼ cup of whole milk

1 cup of gruyere 

Salt

Pepper

Thyme

3 TBL Butter 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Butter an 8X13 casserole dish with 1 TBL of butter and layer the bottom with potatoes.  Add a little salt and pepper on top of the potatoes.
3. Melt 2 TBL of butter in a large skillet and sauté the onion until soft.  Add the kale and cook for about two more minutes.  Add the cabbage, and season with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Cook until softened, about 3 or 4 more minutes.  You do still want the vegetables to still have vibrant color and some texture.
4. Add about half of the kale/cabbage mixture on top of the potatoes.
5. Add another layer of potatoes on top, and then finish with the rest of the kale/cabbage mixture.
6. Whisk the eggs, yoghurt, and milk together and pour over the gratin.  Add the gruyere on top.
7. Cook the gratin for about an hour, or until the cheese is nicely browned, the potatoes soft, and most of the liquid appears to have soaked into the dish.

As I write this, I am reheating most of the gratin for dinner tonight.  I poured a splash of milk on top to moisten the vegetables, added a fresh grating of pecorino cheese, and for a twist, added some dollops of pesto on top.