You know you’re advancing in years when a) you get excited by the thought of buying a mandolin (the chopping, not the Captain Corelli variety) and b) you then get enraged because it turns out it doesn’t slice thinly enough for your liking. So, all ideas of conning my children by making vegetable crisps out of the window, I was left pondering what to do with my new toy so that I didn’t hurl it against a wall. As fate would have it, I was also pondering what to do with the remains of last week’s Nuns of Caen that the kinds folks at The Cheese Market had given to me in abundance. This recipe is therefore the coming together of some too-thickly-sliced vegetables, a luscious cheese washed in perry and – it only seemed fitting – some pears. It was eaten with pork chops, also cooked in perry with shallots and sage.
And very nice it all was too. Mandolin, you are forgiven.
Ingredients
400g potatoes, peeled
400g celeriac, peeled
200g washed rind cheese such as Nuns of Caen, rind removed and chopped into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 pears, peeled and cored
300ml double cream
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 180˚c/160˚C fan assisted/Gas Mark 4. Using a mandolin, potato peeler or very steady hand plus knife, cut the potatoes and celeriac into slices. Cut the pears into strips. Mix the fruit and vegetable slices together with the garlic and salt and pepper.
Layer the fruit and vegetable slices in a baking dish, dotting each layer with the chunks of cheese.
When you have finished, pour the cream evenly over the top. Bake for about an hour and a quarter or until the vegetables are soft and the top is golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Fromage Homage 
Love the combination of celeriac and cheese… a match made in heaven!
Oh yum. Yum yum yum. I may have to reconsider tonight’s menu to do that bake. Did I say yum? Yum.
Let me know if you do! I’m sure both veggies and the cheese could be substituted with all sorts. And maybe some bacon in there wouldn’t go amiss…
I made a potato and celeriac gratin with cream, garlic, parsley and a bit of grated cheddar. It all got scoffed tout suite. Thanks for the idea. xx
That sounds good too – cream, cheese, spuds, what’s not to like? I’m glad to have found a new use for celeriac too, aside from soups and braised.
It went brilliantly with the fillet of beef, although I’m also very partial to celeriac mash.
That sounds great. Does it work, leaving the cheese baking for such a relatively long time? I guess it does, or you wouldn’t have done it. Like Linda, I’d love to make it tonight. Just a small matter of (a) no Nuns of Caen, (b) no celeriac, and (c) no pears. Oh, and (d) no double cream.
Pears with a Normandy-style cheese is a heavenly combo!
Absolutely 🙂
Yes, the cheese is fine as it’s sandwiched between the veggies and sort of melts into the cream too. Another time! 😉
Have just fallen in love with your blog. Great name, and as a lover of cheese the idea of popping across to look at cheese is rather appealing :-).
You are most welcome. Please do pop across for a cheesy chat 🙂
Can you adjust the blade so that it slices thinner? Just watch your fingers!
Hmmm… that sounds delish!
is drooling…
Bises et @+, Anne.