Potato and Herb Terrine

Ingredients:

750g waxy potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced (do not peel)
generous handful of young spinach leaves
2 eggs, lightly beaten
350g crème frache
leaves from a small handful of mixed herbs (chives, chervil, tarragon, thyme, sorrel, coriander), chopped
60g Gruyère cheese, grated
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Sit a liberally-buttered loaf tin or terrine tin in a deep roasting tin.

Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the spinach, bring back to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Drain the spinach, rinse under cold running water, then drain and dry thoroughly. Chop the spinach finely.

Beat the eggs into the crème frache then stir in the spinach, herbs, half the cheese, the cayenne pepper and the seasoning. Spread a little of this herb mixture over the base of the loaf tin then cover with a layer of potato slices and sprinkle over some of the remaining cheese.

Repeat the layering process until all the ingredients have been used up, finishing with a sprinkling of cheese. Cover the dish with foil then pour boiling water into the roasting tin.

Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 75 minutes, removing the foil about 55 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

At the end of the cooking time turn the oven off, but leave the loaf inside for 15 minutes.

If serving hot, invert the tin onto a warmed serving plate, garnish with a few herbs and bring to the table. If serving cold, leave the terrine in the tin to cool completely (best over night) then run the point of a knife around the edge to loosen the terrine.

Invert onto a plate then slice and serve.