DESIREE COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• Halve the potatoes and cook them in boiling lightly salted water until tender, then drain and leave until cool enough to touch. Meanwhile, melt 15g of the butter in a saucepan. Add the bacon and sizzle until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, then add the onion and pears. Cook until pale golden, then tip the bacon back into the saucepan.
• Remove the kale leaves from their coarse ribs and blanch the leaves for 2 mins in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cold water. Chop the leaves and add to the bacon and onions. Pour in 2 tbsp water and some pepper, cover the pan and cook for about 15 mins, making sure the pan doesn’t become dry. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Peel the potatoes and put them back in the pan in which they were cooked. Add the remaining butter and seasoning, then mash together.
• If the bacon mixture is too ‘wet’, then remove the lid, turn up the heat and boil off the excess moisture. Put the kale and bacon mixture into a gratin dish and spread the mash on top. Sprinkle over the cheese, if using, then bake in the oven for about 20 mins, or until the top is golden – you can crisp it up under the grill for 5 mins if you need to. Leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Fry the onions and thyme sprigs in the oil until softened and lightly coloured (about 5 mins).
• Spread a layer of potatoes over the base of a 1.5-litre oiled gratin dish. Sprinkle over a few onions (see picture, above) and continue layering, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Pour over the stock and bake for 50-60 mins until the potatoes are cooked and the top is golden and crisp.