Potato, Apple and Black Pudding Gratin
Golden potatoes, apples and onions roasted together make a wonderfully sweet and fruity gratin but you can top that by spreading a few slices of black pudding (or German Blutwurst) over the fruit and vegetables. Sprinkle this oven beauty with fresh thyme and you'll be rewarded with the most aromatic winter gratin!
Black pudding has a difficult image - unfortunately! Although the taste is often enjoyed, I know quite a few who have a problem with the fact that the sausage gets its dark red colour from blood. It's one of the oldest sausages which was highly appreciated by the Romans and it also got mentioned in Homer's Odyssey: "As when a man beside a great fire has filled a sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that and is very eager to get it quickly roasted ." I love its sweet and aromatic taste and soft texture. I often fry slices of Blutwurst in butter for just a few minutes and eat them with mashed potatoes, fried onions and apples. This is the German classic called Himmel und Ääd, meaning Heaven and Earth, it's very popular in the Rhineland area where I come from. I mentioned this great combination of fruits from the soil and the trees when I wrote about my parsnip and pear soup.
For my gratin, I layered slices of boiled potatoes, apples and onions and put the sausage on top. You could also tuck them in between the vegetables but then you would miss out on their almost caramelized texture. After 30 minutes in the oven, the blood pudding turned into crunchy bites which were still soft inside, it was so good!
Potato, Apple and Black Pudding Gratin
For 2 as a main or 4 as a side dish you need
potatoes, peeled, boiled and sliced, 650g / 1.5 pounds
large onion, cut in half and sliced thinly, 1
large sour apple, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced, 1
black pudding, peeled and cut into 0.5cm / 1/4" slices, 200g / 7 ounces
olive oil
sea salt and pepper
fresh thyme, a small handful
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (I used the Rotitherm roasting setting) and brush the bottom of a baking dish (around 28 x 20cm / 11 x 8") with olive oil.
Layer the potatoes, apples and onions in the dish. Sprinkle with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper and put the sausage and thyme on top. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Check after 20 minutes, if the sausage gets too dark, put it under the potatoes.
