Gratin Dauphinois
This is so
often served in restaurants as a gooey sludge that seems to have hung around
too long. But home-made, straight from the oven, it is truly one of the great
classics. I know it does seem extravagant to use 5 floz
/ 150ml cream for 1lb
/ 450g potatoes,
but I would forego a pudding with cream once in a while in
order to justify it. And although cheese is sometimes added to this, I think it
masks the potato flavour too much.
Serves : 3 – 4
Ingredients:
1lb / 450g
Good-Quality Potatoes
(King Edward or Desirée)
1 Small Clove Garlic,
crushed
5 floz / 150ml Double Cream
5 floz / 150ml Milk
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1oz / 25g Butter
Salt and Freshly
Milled Black Pepper
Instructions:
1.
Pre-heat
the oven to Gas Mark 2 / 300°F / 150°C.
2.
First,
peel the potatoes
and slice them very, very thinly (a wooden mandolin is excellent for this
operation, if you have one), then plunge the potato slices into a
bowl of cold water and swill them round and round to get rid of some of the
starch.
3.
Now dry
them very thoroughly in a clean tea cloth.
4.
Then in the
gratin dish arrange a layer of potato slices, a
sprinkling of crushed garlic,
pepper and salt and then another
layer of potatoes
and seasoning.
5.
Now mix
the cream and milk together, pour it
over the potatoes,
sprinkle with a little freshly grated nutmeg, then add
the butter in flecks
over the surface and bake on the highest shelf in the oven for 1½ hours.
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