Tag Archives: Potato

Spinach and watercress soup

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I am rushing a bit today but I wanted to share this delicious soup recipe with you. The base of this soup is basically the potage parmentier recipe that I posted on a few weeks ago that I adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertolle. That recipe (leek and potato soup in case your French is as good as mine) is a delicious meal in itself but I have given it a bit of pep by adding some fresh spinach and watercress. 

  • 500g of peeled and cubed potatoes
  • 250g of very finely chopped leek
  • 1½ pints of vegetable stock
  • 100g fresh spinach and watercress
  • Salt and pepper
  • 50g butter
  • 2 tablespoons of double cream (optional)
  1. Cook the potato and leek in the vegetable stock until the vegetables are tender. Using the back of a fork roughly mash the potato.
  2. In a small pan bring a small amount of water to the boil (probably less than an inch of water) and cook the spinach and watercress for a minute. With a hand held blender, roughly blend the spinach, watercress and the water into a course soup.
  3. Add the spinach and watercress to the the leek and potato soup and stir in well.
  4. Season the soup with salt and pepper and stir in the butter and cream.

Vegetable gratin

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Gratin is one of my favourite things to cook. It is easy to make and goes a long way. A simple spoonful can transform a plate of cold cuts and bread.

This recipe came out of a need to use the final vegetables from last weeks box but you could use anything you have to hand. I always use potatoes in gratin dishes as I feel that they give them a firm base but after that anything goes. The cheese I used was Manchego but Parmesan or another light cheese would work well.

  • 2-3 medium white potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
  • a large white onion, peeled and sliced
  • a clove of garlic, very finely sliced
  • 100 g white mushrooms, wiped and sliced
  • 150 g squash, cut into small cubes
  • a head of pak choi
  • 2 medium free range egg yolks
  • 600 ml double cream
  • 80 g of coarsely grated cheese
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  1. Heat your oven to 180ºc.
  2. Drop the potato slices into a pan of boiling water.
  3. In a large frying pan heat the oil and add the squash, onions, garlic and mushrooms – cook until they are beginning to colour.
  4. Test the potatoes with a knife. When they still have a slight bite to them add the pak choi to the pan. Cook for one minute more before draining.
  5. Mix the cream, egg and cheese together, season with salt and pepper.
  6. Oil a shallow dish and begin to layer the vegetables starting with a layer of potatoes. 
  7. Pour over the cream, egg and cheese mixture.
  8. Bake until golden and bubbling (approx 20-30 minutes).
  9. This dish is delicious served with some slices of parma ham or smoked salmon.
  10. Tuck in and enjoy!
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