Kyle’s Potato and Mushroom Gratin got me thinking about the classic French scalloped potato dish, the Gratin Dauphinois. This gratin strips the dish to its core ingredients; it’s all about the cream and potatoes. No cheese, mushrooms, onions or other additions are allowed.
Gratin Dauphinois.... MMmmmm, starchy...
Though nearly every potato gratin dish involves some sprinkling of cheese, it isn’t necessary. In fact, if you want to call the dish “Gratin Dauphinois”, adding anything else is forbidden. The combination of starches in the potatoes and the cream/milk is enough to create a thick, creamy consistency. Don’t get me wrong, adding cheese isn’t a bad thing, Kyle’s dish was fantastic. The addition of cheese allows for different flavor profiles and can compliment the flavors of other additions. But each time someone adds cheese and calls it Gratin Dauphinois, a large tear wells up and rolls down the cheek of a Frenchman living in Dauphiné. Well, maybe not, but if you add cheese, you have lost the right to call it Dauphinois.
All the other flavors in this dish are there to augment the cream and potatoes. A dash of nutmeg brings a mild nutty-earthiness to the dish. Garlic is added too, but only as a hint of flavor by rubbing the baking dish with a garlic clove. If you are wondering about the use of white pepper instead of black pepper, it’s simply to keep the color of the dish consistent. Black pepper is perfectly fine, but would leave black specks throughout the dish.
I like to use mostly all heavy cream when I make this, but some people may find that very rich. You can tame the richness of the dish by using lower fat creams, half and half, or even whole milk. You may have some success with part-skim milk, but I have never used anything less than whole milk. Last night when I made this dish, I intended to use all heavy cream, but I have been stealing some from the container for my coffee so I had to make up the difference with about 1/2 cup of whole milk.
If I have it on hand, I like to use a bit of crème fraîche in the recipe as well. I find the tangy, nuttiness appealing and think it complements the flavor of potatoes nicely. I’m not sure how authentic that addition is, but I like it. I find that I get good results when I replace a bit (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of the 2 cups of cream with crème fraîche, feel free to use more.
Gratin Dauphinois
Use a 2 quart baking dish. Recipe serves about 6.
Ingredients
2 pounds potatoes, (any waxy kind will do, I typically use the red ones)
2 cups heavy cream (whole milk or half and half will work too, avoid skim though)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tsp white pepper (black pepper is fine)
up to 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 clove garlic, cut in two
1/4 cup heavy cream (or even creme fraiche)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Peel and rinse the potatoes. Slice them on the thin setting of your mandoline or food processor (1/8 of an inch, about 3mm). A knife works well too. The goal is consistency in the slicing so use whatever tools you have that can help. NOTE: Do not rinse the potatoes after slicing them! That will remove some of the starch that is needed in this dish.
3. Place a large saucepan over medium heat and combine the potatoes, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer (reduce the heat as necessary) and cook for 8 minutes. Stir the bottom of the pan to prevent the potatoes from sticking to each other or the pan. The milk or cream will thicken slightly during this time.
4. Rub the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish with the garlic clove. Add about half the potato/milk mixture to the baking dish, then about half of the unused heavy cream, then the rest of the potato/milk mixture, then the last of the heavy cream.
5. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the edges are bubbly and the top is browned. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.
- Leftovers are good cold, but can be reheated in the oven at 400F for 10-15 minutes.
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