Classic French cuisine uses a lot of fat, but it brings some of the most delightful recipes to the world. This potato gratin (french: gratin or gratin dauphinois) is no exception. Layers of thinly sliced potatoes are bathed in cream and butter, usually flavoured with garlic and aromatics. I decided to upgrade mine slightly by also adding some broth to this dish – you can already imagine its rich flavour palette.
Base ingredients here are potatoes and dairy, therefore it is crucial to buy the best quality. Make sure you use potatoes that are perfect for roasting and are less starchy: new or yukon gold varietes will work well here.
Instructions
Wash potatoes, peel the larger ones. Slice into even thin slices (mandoline works best, but you can simply use your hands, too). The thinner they are, the more delicious and melt-in-your-mouth gratin you will get, which means the precision is worth while.
Julie’s Tip
The thinner you slice the potatoes, the more delicious and melt-in-your-mouth gratin you will get. Thin potato layers can absorb the liquid better which means that the overall flavour is distributed more evenly.
Slice shallots lengthwise. Cut butter into thin slices.
Add a few slices of butter to the bottom of your baking dish. Top with a layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper, add some shallots, pour over a third of cream and top with more butter. Arrange a second layer (or few layers if they’re sliced very thinly) of potatoes on top, sprinkle with herbs and salt/pepper again, add some more shallots, pour in some cream and top with more butter.
Top with the remaining potatoes, herbs, cream, butter and finally pour the broth over. The goal here is to simply divide all of the ingredients more or less equally throughout all of the layers of potatoes.
Bake at a 180°C oven with a fan setting for 60-80 minutes. Check your gratin a few times during baking and if you see that the top layer is starting to brown too quickly, cover with foil and return to the oven. Potatoes should be cooked well and completely softened for the final result.
If you’re using cheese, sprinkle it on top when it’s done and bring back to the oven for 10 more minutes.
Leave on the side to cool slightly before serving so that the cream mixture together with potatoes can firm up into a homogenous meal.
Ingredients
For the potato gratin
- 800 g of new or yukon gold potatoes
- 2 shallots
- 200 ml of full fat cream
- 40 g of unsalted butter
- 100 ml of chicken or vegetable broth
- handful of fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- handful of fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
- sea salt to taste, but not less than 1/2 teaspoon
- your choice of hard or soft cheese like gruyere (optional) for the top layer
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Add a few slices of butter to the bottom of your baking dish.
Add a few slices of butter to the bottom of your baking dish.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Top with a layer of potatoes.
Top with a layer of potatoes.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper. Add some shallots.
Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper. Add some shallots.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Pour over a third of cream and top with more butter.
Pour over a third of cream and top with more butter.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Arrange a second layer (or a couple of layers if you’ve sliced extra thin) of potatoes on top, sprinkle with herbs and salt/pepper again. Add more shallots.
Arrange a second layer (or a couple of layers if you’ve sliced extra thin) of potatoes on top, sprinkle with herbs and salt/pepper again. Add more shallots.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Pour over more cream and top with more butter.
Pour over more cream and top with more butter.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
Top with the remaining potatoes, herbs, cream, butter and finally pour the broth over. The goal here is to simply divide all of the ingredients more or less equally throughout all of the layers.
Top with the remaining potatoes, herbs, cream, butter and finally pour the broth over. The goal here is to simply divide all of the ingredients more or less equally throughout all of the layers.
Layer the Gratin Step by Step
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