Excerpted from Raghavan Iyer’s Smashed, Mashed, Boiled, and Baked—and Fried, Too!.
To witness the French work with pommes de terre (“apples of the earth”) is downright enchanting. They have raised the bar in creating such iconic pièces de résistance as potato galettes, potatoes Anna, vichyssoise, and even the ubiquitous hash browns. This gratin, fashioned with layers of thinly sliced potatoes and an herbaceous cream sauce with an abundance of cheese, is an excellent accompaniment to a piece of simply grilled fish, a robust steak au poivre, or even a Thanksgiving feast.
Cheesy Potato Gratin
Print RecipeIngredients
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, chilled
- 2 pounds potatoes (a mix of russets, purple, and red)
- 1¼ cups heavy (whipping) cream
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (see Tater Tip)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
- 2 cups shredded cheese (such as Gruyère, mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Havarti, or a blend)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease the inside of a 10½-inch cast-iron skillet or a round 10-by-2-inch baking dish with a little of the butter. Slice the remaining butter into small pieces and keep them chilled as you prepare the gratin.
Fill a large bowl with cold water. Lay out a clean cotton kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels on the counter, for drying the potatoes. Scrub and rinse the potatoes well under cold running water. Slice them lengthwise with a chef’s knife or mandoline into long planks, about ⅛ inch thick. Submerge them in the bowl of water to prevent them from discoloring.
Bring the cream, rosemary, and thyme to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the cream is hot, 2 to 3 minutes, remove it from the heat.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and give the colander a good shake or two to rid the potatoes of excess water. (You don’t want to dilute the cream later.) Spread the potatoes on the kitchen towel and dry them well.
Arrange a layer using one quarter of the potato planks to cover the bottom of the prepared pan, slightly overlapping them. Sprinkle the potatoes with one quarter each of the peppercorns and salt. Pour one third of the herbed cream over this. Sprinkle one third of the shredded cheese over the cream. Repeat with another layer of the potatoes, peppercorns, salt, and half of the remaining cream and cheese. Top with a third layer of potatoes, peppercorns, salt, the remaining cream, and the final portion of cheese. Arrange the remaining potato slices on top of this and sprinkle the remaining peppercorns and salt over them. Scatter the butter pieces on top and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake until the sauce is bubbly, the potatoes on top are blistered and brown, and the interior potatoes are tender when you pierce the layers with a knife or fork, about 1 hour.
Allow the gratin to cool a bit before you slice it and serve. I usually cut it into wedges, like pizza slices.
No Comments