These two side dishes make a healthy and tasty accompaniment to any meal...

Two extra sides that make great accompaniments to the foolproof fillet in our August food feature Friends for Dinner.

Creamy Baby Spinach

The texture of creamed spinach but without the cream and arguably more flavour.

What You Need
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400g baby spinach, washed and stalks removed
2-4 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
Freshly ground nutmeg
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

Method
In a medium pot, saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened but without colour. In the mean time, finely slice the spinach. Add the spinach to the pot and cook, stirring, until reduced in volume. Still stirring, gradually add enough parmesan until it looks creamy and sticky. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and serve.

Potato Gratin

In this gratin the potatoes cook in chicken stock rather than milk and cream. It's light, crisp on top and has a savoury kick.

What You Need
600g potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
¾ cups chicken stock
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Butter or olive oil (optional)

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Butter a gratin dish. Toss the potatoes with the chicken stock and season well. Layer the potatoes in the dish and, if you like, dot the top with butter or drizzle with a little olive oil.
Bake for about one hour – when it's cooked a knife should pierce the potatoes easily and top will be crisp and golden.