Time for a big mac

FOOD:OVER THE YEARS, I've been lucky enough to go skiing once or twice, despite being pretty rubbish at it. With age, comes wisdom. The sort that dictates that towards the end of a few days holiday, when the legs get wobbly and weak, and the hangover shakes become the most consistent part of any snow-plough, I convince myself I'll end up breaking a leg if I persist, and find any excuse to ski less and wander around the village more, blaming my reluctance to take part on old knee injuries.

One year in France, whilst mitching from yet another near-death experience on the mountain, I discovered the best reason to go on a skiing holiday – tartiflette. This winter dish is a gorgeous concoction of bubbling, creamy Reblochon cheese, smothering slices of soft potatoes with bacon, garlic and onion. An alpine potato gratin, as it were.

It is often cooked outdoors in massive copper pots over open flames. The smell of it seemed more luxurious even than the taste – just as the aroma of coffee beans can sometimes surpass the taste of a cup of coffee. Looking at recipes for it recently, they all seem to be a bit scabby with the cream, so I’ll keep playing around with quantities until I can re-create that same oozy, cheesy, wicked stodge, but with an Irish cheese, of course.

In the meantime, now that the weather is getting all Jack Frosty, and in the spirit of Alpine grub, I came across a recipe by my new food writer crush, Valentine Warner, who is fast replacing Nigel Slater in my affections. He has two books out, and all his grub seems to be as hearty and delicious as Slater’s, but with a bit more panache.

His recipe for Alpine Macaroni wasn’t bad, but naturally I felt I could make it handier, so I tweaked it to make it much easier to do for a bunch of people coming for supper. The recipe would easily serve six and all it needs is a good salad with it, such as the winter slaw recipe here. Hearty appetites and a glass or two of rich, white wine wouldn’t go amiss.

Mac and cheese

Serves six

500g macaroni

Olive oil

Few knobs of butter

1 tbsp flour

200 ml white wine

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

2 x 200/250 g tubs creme fraiche

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

250g Gruyère, grated

10-15 smoked streaky bacon rashers, diced

Pinch of brown sugar

2 onions, very thinly sliced

100 ml sunflower oil

Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water, until nearly cooked (pre-al dente). Drain the pasta, rinse in cold water and then pour a glug of olive oil over it and mix it through, which will stop the pasta sticking together. Set aside.

Meanwhile, take a good knob of butter and in a non-stick saucepan, cook the butter and tablespoon of flour over a medium heat for a minute or two, stirring with a whisk, so the flour cooks out. Then add the wine, slowly, whisking continuously so that it forms a smooth, thick liquid, which will look incredibly unappetising. Cook this over a gentle heat, add the mustard, season loads and add the creme fraiche and garlic. Let it cook for a few more minutes and taste.

Heat another knob of butter in a frying pan and fry the bacon until crisp, adding a pinch of sugar to help it caramelise. When it’s cooked, drain on kitchen paper and add to the sauce. In a large bowl, mix the macaroni into the cream mixture and add the grated Gruyère. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour the pasta into a large buttered gratin dish. You can leave this overnight. When ready to cook, heat it up for 35 minutes or so in an oven at 170 degrees/gas three, until golden and bubbling on top. Cover with tin foil if the top browns too quickly. As a garnish, fry the onions in very hot oil until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper, season with salt, and sprinkle on top of the macaroni.

Winter slaw

The best part of this is the dressing, which is fragrant and fresh, and would also be very tasty served over roast lamb.

100g pumpkin seeds

4 carrots, peeled and grated

200g baby spinach leaves

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 red cabbage, thinly sliced

2 Belgian endive, thinly sliced

Green dressing

25g of herbs is one massive handful

25g parsley

25g mint

25g coriander

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

Big knob of ginger, peeled

Juice of 2 lemons

50 ml soy sauce

100 ml olive oil

3 tbsp honey

50 ml red wine vinegar

Whizz all ingredients together, season and use as required over the combined slaw ingredients. It does lose some of its lovely green colour if you keep it too long in the fridge, so best to make only a few hours before you need it.

dkemp@irishtimes.com

See also www.itsa.ie