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Gratin Dauphinois

Source of Recipe

Tony Bourdain in "Les Halles Cookbook"


Recipe Introduction

This is a wonderful potato gratin. I have never had much luck with au gratin/scalloped potato dishes. They are always watery and/or undercooked. I am forever putting off dinner to try to microwave them to the desired softness. That was not a problem with this dish. This gratin is creamy, rich and nutty with the Gruyere and the potatoes are tender. Tony says that this recipe serves four. Crazy talk! He must be serving animals. You should get at least 6, if not 8 servings from this recipe. Marlene from CooksKorner.com & egullet.org gave me some tips. She suggests cutting the potatoes very thin with a mandolin since they cook down so much. Always use Yukon Gold potatoes with gratins. Make sure that the cheese is finely grated so that it will melt over and down the potato slices. Make sure that you allow the gratin to rest at least 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven. Also a 13” x 9” baking dish works well. NOTE: When I made these for Easter 2022 there was a lot of what looked like melted butter in the bottom of the baking dish when I served the potatoes. I don't know if it was the Gruyere or if the heavy cream broke. gilbertlevine at eGullet suggested using half cream and half milk instead of all cream. He also said NOT 1/2 & 1/2.

List of Ingredients

8 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices (about 3 lbs.)
2 c. heavy cream (SEE NOTE ABOVE)
5 garlic cloves, slightly crushed
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of flat parsley
salt and white pepper
freshly ground nutmeg (go easy)
1 T. butter
4 oz. grated Gruyere cheese



Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and add the cream, 4 of the garlic cloves, and the herbs. Season with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove from the heat and discard the garlic and herbs.

Use the remaining garlic clove to rub around the inside of a large oven proof gratin dish. Butter the inside of the gratin dish so that it is evenly coated. Put the potatoes and cream into the gratin dish and sprinkle the top with the cheese. Cook for 40 minutes until the mixture is brown and bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 - 8.