♬ 'The Sound Of The Smiths' by The Smiths
I don't know too much about this band, mainly due to the fact that I am a pure 90's chick. However I was pretending to be a witch when role playing this afternoon and this is why I chose this album! 'How soon is now?' was the theme tune to a series called 'Charmed' which was during an era when vampires, demons and witches were dominating television. Please don't get me started on 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', let's just say I was engrossed!
Kids love the same game over and over again, and after 10 rounds of bad witch vs good witch, I was shattered and the cackling was drying out my throat. It was most definitely time to eat. This is not technically a proper gratin, but has similar properties. The preparation of gratin varies, but I wanted to flip the script and use tomatoes instead of cream. Hopefully one day when I visit France someone will show me the traditional method.
Now back from a hardcore session of boxing, I'm getting hungry looking at this photo and will have to make it again. I've used Quorn mince as it's quick, low fat and high in protein.
▶Recipe for a medium dish, serves 6.
Ingredients:
300g Quorn mince
1 can of organic chopped tomatoes.
1 teaspoon chilli powder
400g kidney beans
1 tsp dried oregano
1 small red sliced onion
3 small garlic cloves, crushed.
Pinch of fennel seeds.
Salt
Pepper
Tomato puree
Light olive oil
2 dried chillies
5 medium Desirée potatoes with skin on and sliced like thick crisps. 4 slices should come out from one potato. For a rough estimate keep on slicing and lay them in the dish. Or if you wish to use a mandoline slicer, use less potatoes.
Buffalo Mozzarella
Method:
: Fry the onions in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft, add 2 crushed garlic cloves and the fennel seeds, keep on a low heat until the seeds start giving off their aroma.
: Add the mince and stir for one minute, then tip in the can of tomatoes.
: Fill this whole can with water and pour in.
: Use a tablespoon to measure out the tomato puree and stir in.
: The chillies can get involved at this stage.
: Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add the oregano and kidney beans.
: Taste then season if you wish, I added a tiny bit of sea salt and a lot of black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes with lid off.
: Preheat oven to 190°c.
: In a gratin or fairly shallow dish drizzle a bit of olive oil and rub remaining crushed garlic on the base and the sides.
: Lay one half of the potatoes at the bottom, then pour over the mince, discard the dried chillies.
: Line the rest of the potatoes on top, add torn or grated mozzarella and a bit more oregano.
: Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
: Take off the foil and bake for an extra 30 minutes.
: Wait to see a nice crust forming and then poke a fork in one potato and check to see if it's done.
: Put under the grill for a few more minutes so the mozzarella browns a bit and serve hot.
A meal fit to curl up on the sofa with a simple salad and watch some vampire action.
Favourite Song:
ê 'How Soon Is Now?'
