Bette à carde gratiné (Swiss Chard Gratin)

2 bunches chard leaves, chopped (about 8 cups packed or 2lbs)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter
1½ cups milk
3 Tbsps flour
1 Tbsp + 2 tsps wholegrain mustard 
1½ cups grated Gruyère (6.3oz/180g)
Sea salt and black pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (0.8oz/22.5g)
2 to 3 Tbsps bread crumbs

SERVE WITH
Crusty bread

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Bring a  saucepan of salted water to boil. 
3. Thinly slice the reserved chard stems, add them to the water, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the leaves and continue cooking until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. 
4. Drain and allow to cool, then gently squeeze out the excess liquid and coarsely chop.
5. In a large pan heat oil and butter over medium heat. When butter has melted, whisk in the flour until blended and whisk until the flour cooks, or starts to brown. 
6. Slowly whisk in the milk. Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the mustard and the Gruyère. 
7. Stir in the cooked chard and transfer to a buttered gratin dish. 
8. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and breadcrumbs. 
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling. 
10. Put under the broiler to get the top brown and crispy.
11. Put the hot potatoes onto a plate and spoon the gratin over them.
12. Serve immediately.

Frittella Di Spaghetti Fritti

A fantastic way of using up leftover pasta dishes. The trickiest part is the get the right balance of salt, which is dependent on the saltiness of the original dish. Was it already salty? Is there cheese in it that make it salty? The uncertainty is worth it, given the lovely crunchy browned crust that develops thanks to the parmesan-laden egg.

8 oz dried pasta OR 16 oz of leftover pasta dish

2 whole eggs

1 to 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese

¼ to 1 tsp salt, to taste

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) + 1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter + more to grease the plate

OPTIONAL - 1 tsp minced garlic

1. If using leftover pasta, skip this step. If starting from scratch, cook the pasta and drain well, letting cool a bit before using.
2. Meanwhile, mix the eggs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper (and optional garlic) in a large bowl. 
3. Add the cool/cold pasta to the egg mixture and toss well. 
4. Heat a 6" (preferred but not essential) frying pan over medium low heat with one tablespoon of butter. When it's sizzling, about 5 minutes, add the pasta mix. Let it cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until a nice brown crust has formed.
5. Meanwhile, lightly grease a dinner plate with a bit more butter for the next step.
6. When the bottom of the pancake is brown, make sure it's loose from the pan, perhaps by running a spatula underneath it in the pan. Upturn the plate on top of the pancake, hold firm with your hand, grab the handle of the pan and flip the pancake onto the plate, removing the pan. It should just drop onto the plate
7. Set the pan back on the stove-top, add the remaining Tbsp of butter and slide the pancake back into the pan. Cook the second side for about 3 to 4 minutes to get another nice brown crust. 
8. Once browned on both sides, flip back onto the plate and serve immediately.
9. And you're done. 
10. This should make a dinner for two people, or side dish portions for four.

Pâtissons Gratinée (summer squash au gratin)

The best way to make this dish delicious is to treat it like art. No, really. Arranging the tomato and summer squash slices in a regular pattern actually influences not only the visual experience of the dish, but also how the flavors and textures mix. When I serve it, people assume that there are only 3 ingredients. Somehow, although the cheese and the onion and garlic are intrinsic to the flavour, it's the thyme, tomato and squash that always stand out. With some nice fresh bread, this makes for a filling late summer meal.

2 + 3 Tbsps olive oil

2 medium onions (14 oz total), thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1¼ lbs ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into ¼" slices

¾ lb (about 2 small) green patty pan squash or other green summer squash, cut into ¼" slices on the bias

¾ lb (about 2 small) yellow patty pan squash, yellow summer squash or golden zucchini, cut into ¼" slices on the bias

¼ cup fresh thyme leaves (loosely packed)

1 tsp coarse salt

1¼ cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Sauté the onions in the oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden (about 20 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Spread the onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2 qt shallow gratin dish.
3. Heat the oven to 375°F. 
4. Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate to drain for a few minutes and then discard any collected juices. 
5. In a bowl toss the zucchini and squash slices with the second batch of olive oil, the thyme and the salt. 
6. Reserve half of the cheese for the top of the gratin. 
7. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish and sprinkle with a little of the cheese, then lay a row of zucchini overlapping the tomatoes, sprinkle with cheese. Repeat, until the dish is full.
8. Season lightly with pepper. Drizzle with some more olive oil and sprinkle over the reserved cheese. 
9. Cook until well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 65 to 70 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 min. before serving.