Recipe - Potato And Wild Mushroom Gratin

1 cup Dried cepes; (porcini
mushrooms)
1 qt Boiling water
4 lg Garlic cloves; minced or put
through a press, plus 1
garlic clove cut in half
lengthwise
1 pound Fresh wild mushrooms; if
available, cleaned of grit
and cut or sliced up about inch
thick if large
Salt to taste
5 teaspoon Olive oil
2 teaspoon Fresh thyme leaves or 1
teaspoon dried
2 tablespoon Red wine; such as a Cotes du
Rhone
Freshly ground pepper; to
taste
3 pound Waxy potatoes; scrubbed and
cut or sliced up inch thick
1 ounce Gruyere or Parmesan cheese;
grated, ( cup)

A week or so ago we had a thread on potato gratin dishes. My local paper,
the Charleston, SC Post and Courier had an article today on the local Heart
Ball, which is supposed to be a fundraiser for the Heart Association. They
had this recipe on Potato and Wild Mushroom Gratin which looks great and is
supposed to be healthy, too!

You can view the whole article for more recipes at
http://www.charleston.net/pub/entertain/food/hea0218.htm

Here are a few of the recipes for dishes that will be served at the Heart
Ball. If you can't find fresh wild mushrooms for this recipe, omit them and
use the dried cepes (porcini mushrooms) only.

Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and pour on the boiling water. Let sit
for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the mushrooms are softened. Drain through a
cheeseclothlined strainer over a bowl and squeeze the mushrooms over the
strainer. Rinse thoroughly to remove the grit, squeeze dry and chop
coarsely. reserve the soaking liquid.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rub the inside of a 3quart gratin dish
with the cut clove of garlic.

Combine the fresh wild mushrooms and salt in a large, heavybottomed,
nonstick skillet and heat over mediumhigh heat until they begin to release
water, about 1 minute. Cook, shaking the pan or stirring with a wooden
spoon, for 5 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. (If fresh
wild mushrooms are unavailable, omit this step altogether.)

Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil (or heat the olive oil in a nonstick
skillet if you don't have fresh wild mushrooms), the chopped dried
mushrooms, the remaining garlic and the thyme, and continue to cook,
stirring, for another 23 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and
beginning to color. Add the red wine and pepper and cook for a minute,
stirring, until the wine has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and toss
with the cut or sliced up potatoes. Add more pepper if desired.

Arrange the potatoes and mushrooms in an even layer in the prepared dish.
Measure out 3 cups of the mushroomsoaking liquid and season with 1
teaspoon salt (or more or less, to taste). Pour it over the potatoes. Bake
for about 12 hours, until the potatoes are tender and the top is crusty.
Every 20 minutes, stir the potatoes from the bottom up to the top. When the
top is beginning to color, after about an hour and 15 minutes, sprinkle the
cheese and remaining olive oil over the top. Continue to bake until the top
is browned, 15 to 30 minutes.

Advance preparation: The gratin can be assembled several hours before
baking. The mushrooms can be prepared a day or two ahead of time and held
in the refrigerator.

Nutrition information per serving: 274 calories, 6 grams fat, 406
milligrams sodium, 8 grams protein, 49 grams carbohydrate, 5 milligrams
cholesterol.

From "Provencal Light," by Martha Rose Shulman (Bantam, 1994).

Posted to EATL Digest by Roger Young ryoung@AWOD.COM on Feb 18, 1998