Railway Station Recipes

By Belinda Evans

Our previous newsletter’s recipe of spaghetti with sage and butter went down so well with some readers that we thought you might like another recipe, again using some of the herbs freely available from Platform One at Forest Hill station. On your way back home, why not pop into the garden area behind the bike shelter and pick some sage or thyme for the following gratin, along with some mint for a refreshing tea?

SAUSAGES WITH ROOT VEGETABLE GRATIN 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pack of sausages (meat or veggie/vegan)

• 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1cm thick rounds

• 200g any other root vegetables you have at home (e.g. turnip, parsnip, celeriac, carrots), peeled and cut into even-sized slices or chunks 

• 2 onions, sliced

• 2‒3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried sage, or thyme)

• 300ml vegetable stock

• 250ml double cream

• 1‒2 tbsp Wholegrain, French or English mustard 

• 75g Parmesan, Pecorino or other hard cheese, grated

• A handful of breadcrumbs 

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• In a large mixing bowl combine all the vegetables including onions.

• In an oven-proof dish, layer half the mixed vegetables.

• Pour over the vegetable stock, scatter the fresh herbs, and dot with a few teaspoons of mustard on top.

• Repeat with the remaining onions and vegetables. Pour over the cream to coat the top layer of vegetables.

• Mix the breadcrumbs and grated cheese together in a small bowl, and season with salt and black pepper.

• Scatter on top of the dish and place in a preheated oven (190C / 170C fan) for 50 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the top is golden. You can cover the dish with some tinfoil for the first half of the cooking time to stop the top from over-browning.

• If you have space in your oven, place the sausages in an oven-proof dish and cook for the remaining 20 minutes of the gratin’s cooking time. Alternatively, fry or grill whilst the gratin is cooking.

• Serve the sausages and gratin together. The leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2—3 days and can easily be reheated in the oven or microwave.

All washed down with a refreshing mint tea using your freshly picked mint…

MINT TEA

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 cups water 

• 15 fresh mint leaves (peppermint or spearmint)

• Optional: 1—2 teaspoons sugar (or honey)

• Optional: lemon slices

• Optional: fresh lemon juice

• Optional: ice

Method

• Bring the water to a boil.

• Remove from the heat and add the fresh mint leaves.

• Steep for 3—5 minutes, depending on desired strength.

• Add optional sweetener. Start with 1 teaspoon per cup and add more as desired.

• If serving iced, fill tall glasses with ice and pour the tea over. If serving hot, pour the tea into mugs. Garnish with optional lemon slices and/or lemon juice to taste.