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Gratin Dauphinois

Written by Published on in All Recipes, Dinner

Potatoes are a delicious food that you can cook in a million and one ways. This dish is rich, creamy, and cheesy and very easy and quick to put together. The baking takes the longest time, but the payoff is better than a dragon’s hoard.

Gratin Dauphinois

Recipe by The Tabletop DinerCourse: DinnerCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Level 3
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Delicious, rich, creamy, and very simple. Gratin Dauphinois is amazing as an accompaniment to a meat, or as the main dish.

Ingredients

  • 2 russet potatoes

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1 tbs butter

  • 2 – 3 shallots thinly sliced

  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or crème fresh

  • salt and pepper

  • 1 cup grated gruyere

  • 3 – 5 basil leaves

Directions

  • Peel then slice the potatoes into thin slices about 1/8th thick, and thinly slice the shallots into rings.
  • Prepare the gratin dish by rubbing the garlic cloves over the entire interior surface of the dish, then repeating with the butter.
  • Begin layering in the potatoes and shallots. Layer the potatoes in rings, with just a little overlap on each potato, then sprinkle some of the shallots onto the potatoes. Repeat this process until you run out of potatoes and shallots. Generously salt and pepper in between each layer.
  • Pour in the cream until it reaches the top layer.
  • Bake the potatoes in a pre-heated oven at 375F for 35 minutes. Take out of the oven, and cover the top with the gruyere. Place the dish back in the oven and bake another 5 minutes, or until the cheese begins to develop a golden brown crust.
  • Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 – 15 minutes before serving. Chiffonade the basil leaves and then garnish when serving.

Potatoes and Which Type to Use

This is really up to you, though, in my experience, softer and creamier textured potatoes tend to do better in this dish. The firmer waxier varieties, like Yukon Golds, tends to require longer baking times, and don’t absorb flavors as well. Generally speaking the softer and wetter the texture of the potatoes, the better the end result with be.

A word of caution though! Using a variety that is too soft will result in a mushy mouth feel once the gratin is baked. I find this recipe to be best when there is a little firmness left in the potatoes slices, and adds some texture to each bite. Otherwise, why make a Gratin Dauphinois when you could more quickly make a creamy cheesy mashed potato?

I like creamy textures in my gratins, so I always stick with a classic russet, however, waxier potatoes are what’s typically recommended for gratins. Keep in mind that if you want to use a waxier potato you will need to increase the baking time of this recipe aby about 5 – 10 minutes, otherwise your likely to bite into a potato that will feel raw.

Let me know your thoughts! I’d love to hear from you and find out if you loved this recipe, changed something or added ingredients.

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