Recipe

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When it comes to creating an enjoyable eating experience, you can't let everything rest on the central dish. In fact, it's also vital to find accompanying dishes that compliment the main dish as well. Sadly, tracking down the best of these, especially ones that you can cook successfully at home can be tough. That is why I have come up with the following guide. 

Leek gratin 

The first side dish is a tasty, oniony, cheesy mix, with a little crunch on top to add some bite and texture. Of course, it is a classic leek gratin, and the good news is that it is super easy to make at home. In fact, while most dishes call for cream, replacing the liquids with cream cheese will do just as well, and make it much simpler too. 

With that in mind, all you need to do is take 1 leek per person, chopped into rounds and fry them off in a little butter or olive oil. Then add 75g of cream cheese per person, and loosen with a dash of water if needed. 

Next, place this mixture into an ovenproof dish and cover with a mix of breadcrumbs and grated cheddar cheese. Then place the dish in the oven until the topping is brown and melted. Which usually takes around 20-25 minutes at about 180 degrees centigrade. 

Serve this leek gratin with roasted meat, especially lamb, and you will be in for a real treat. 

Italian roasted vegetables 

A good side dish recipe you definitely won't want to miss are Italian roasted vegetables. The method and instructions for which you can get by clicking the preceding link. 

Picture sourced at Pixabay - License CC0

Of course, it is the effort you make to dress the veg with herbs before they go into the oven that makes this dish extra delicious and special. Although this dish is not one that is hard or time-consuming to make. 

Another great thing about this roasted vegetable dish is that you can pair it with just about anything you like from sausages to pork chops. You may even want to promote it to main dish level and serve with rice, it's that tasty! 

Lastly, if you are looking for a little opulence in your side dish, then cooking this parmentier potatoes recipe may be just what you are looking for.  With an added twist of truffle oil and parmesan, that is. 

In fact, parmentier potatoes couldn't be similar to make. Especially if you have an air fryer at home. Start with ½ inch cubes of potatoes using 2-3 medium potatoes per person, place in the air fryer and then add in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. 

Next, allow the cubes to cook through and brown slightly. Once this happens, all you need to do is toss the parmentier potatoes in grated hard Italian cheeses like parmesan and drizzle with truffle oil. 

Serve with a simple salad and steak, or replace the potato cubes with homemade fries for a dish worthy of a nice piece of cod, or even a homemade chicken Kiev. You will not be disappointed!