Creamy potato gratin

Name: Creamy potato gratin
Cook time: 122 min
Total time: 122 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Francesa
Ingredients: 15 g Butter; 2 cloves Garlic; 1.2 kg Potato; 1.5 teaspoons Salt; Black pepper; 2 sprigs Parsley; 1 pinch Nutmeg; 300 ml Whole Milk; 400 ml Cream; 60 g Gruyère

Gratén de patatas a la crema

Easy

Contains allergens

Leche

Incomplete allergen information: some ingredients have not been reviewed yet. Always check the labels before cooking.

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 2 hr
Servings: 6

Summary

Thin slices of potato baked slowly in cream and milk infused with garlic and nutmeg, with a little grated Gruyère on top. Creamy inside, golden and bubbling on top: the French side dish that ends up stealing the show.

Ingredients

6 servings

Add to Bring!

15 g Butter (for greasing the dish)
2 cloves Garlic (one halved for the dish and one sliced)
1.2 kg Potato (floury or all-purpose)
1.5 teaspoons Salt
Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
2 sprigs Parsley (chopped, to serve)
1 pinch Nutmeg (freshly grated)
300 ml Whole Milk
400 ml Cream (whipping cream (35% fat))
60 g Gruyère (grated, optional (see notes)) (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160 °C (conventional, top and bottom heat). Rub the inside of a baking dish about 30 × 20 cm with the halved garlic clove, then grease it with the butter.
5 min
Peel the potatoes and slice them about 3 mm thick, with a mandoline or a very sharp knife. Don't rinse them or put them in water: you need their starch.
15 min
Put the milk, cream, sliced garlic, salt, nutmeg and a little pepper in a wide pan and heat until it just starts to boil. Add the potatoes and simmer gently, stirring carefully from the bottom so they don't stick, until the cream begins to thicken and the slices are pliable but still firm.
12 min
Tip the potatoes and cream into the dish and lay the top slices flat, slightly overlapping. The cream should come almost to the surface. Scatter over the Gruyère.
5 min
Bake uncovered until the tip of a knife slides through the potatoes with no resistance and the top is golden and bubbling. If it browns too soon, cover with foil.
70 min
Leave the gratin to rest out of the oven so the cream settles and it cuts into neat portions. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
15 min

Notes

This is the home version of gratin dauphinois, the classic from the Dauphiné in the French Alps. A strict gratin dauphinois has no cheese: the golden crust comes from the cream alone as it reduces in the oven. For the purist version, leave out the Gruyère; with it is how many homes and restaurants make it, and Comté or Emmental work too. Don't rinse the potatoes once sliced: their starch is what thickens the cream. Use a variety that releases starch without collapsing completely, and full-fat dairy, as lighter cream tends to split in the oven. Simmering the potatoes in the cream for a few minutes first shortens the baking time and makes sure they are tender in the middle. A moderate oven is better than a hot one: above 180 °C the cream boils too hard and separates. Gruyère and most Alpine cheeses are made with animal rennet; without cheese, the gratin is vegetarian. It is excellent with a roast, roast chicken or a steak, and a green salad is all you need to turn it into supper. It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats well, covered, in the oven; don't freeze it, as the potato turns grainy and the cream separates.