Gratin Dauphinois
4 servings
65 minutes
One of the greatest side dishes in world cooking and probably the most effective way to use potatoes. The ingredients are simple: potatoes, cheese and heavy cream, which should not be replaced with products like sour cream or mayonnaise. A well-prepared potato gratin (or Gratin in French) can outshine even the main dish it is served with. The trick here is not to overdo the cream, otherwise the gratin will be too fatty and stringy, but you can't underdo it either, otherwise it will not be a great gratin, but just a layered casserole.
1
Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (2-3 mm) - with a knife, on a grater, or best with a mandoline. After shredding the potatoes thinly, do not wash them to avoid washing away the starch needed for thickening the cream.
- Potato: 600 g
2
In a pot, bring milk and cream to a boil over medium heat.
- Milk: 300 ml
- Cream 33%: 100 ml
3
Add grated cheese to the mixture.
- Gruyere cheese: 100 g
4
Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Nutmeg: 0.5 teaspoon
- Salt: to taste
- Ground black pepper: to taste
5
Add the potatoes and stir to coat them with a layer of cream.
- Potato: 600 g
6
Reduce the heat and cook for eight to ten minutes, stirring to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once the potatoes are ready, which can be easily checked by taste, stir in the grated cheese into the milk, potato, and cream mixture, and then remove the pot from the heat.
7
Add crushed garlic and mix it with the potatoes and everything else.
- Garlic: 4 cloves
8
Pour the mixture into a deep dish and bake in an oven preheated to 120 degrees for twenty-five minutes.
9
The gratin is ready when the tip of a sharp knife easily pierces it (the knife shouldn't go in like into butter; you should still feel some light resistance). To brown the casserole, place it on the top shelf of the oven and turn on the maximum heat for about a minute.
10
Before serving, let the potatoes cool slightly so that the cheese-cream sauce thickens a bit.