Creamy Salmon Gratin

This is the ultimate comfort food. It’s loosely inspired by my old German flatmate, the lovely ‘Claudia’. She was great at cooking hearty food and the girl knew what to do with a pot of cream. I would frequently come home from work to find she had made the kitchen smell like heaven with a rich, creamy gratin and she always made it look so easy, so I tried it myself and in fact it is.

I can only describe it as ‘the dish that does everything’ because I think you’ll find it can be adapted to suit almost every eating situation.

It’s nice to cook for yourself, particularly if you’re one of those people who like to cook in ‘bulk’. Make a tray of it to keep in the fridge for a couple of days, then heat up portions in the microwave.

It’s also great to cook for friends (either a dinner party or when one friend pops over), because I like to prepare things in advance so I’m not flapping round the kitchen while we’re talking. You can prepare it up to a few hours in advance and refrigerate until your friend(s) are in the vicinity, at which point you can bung it in the oven and pour them a glass of white. Make sure it’s reheated and piping hot all the way through before you serve.

You can even cook this for that special someone, because as I say it can be prepared in advance so you’re not hot and bothered when they arrive.