Description
These Dauphinoise Potatoes, also commonly called Potatoes au Gratin, combine thinly sliced potatoes that are layered in an infused cream sauce. The whole thing is then topped with cheese and broiled until golden and bubbly. It's a rich and delicious side dish that's perfect for the holidays.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into 1/16" or 1/8" rounds
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 large cloves of garlic
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 large sprig of rosemary
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (we used a combination of mozzarella, gruyere, and parmesan)
- Butter for greasing the baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325˚F / 160˚C and grease an 8x10" baking dish liberally with butter.
- In a small saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, peppercorns, and nutmeg. Heat over medium low heat until it's simmering slightly, then continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the cream steep and infuse for another 20 minutes while you move on to Step 2.
- Using a mandoline or a knife, cut the potatoes into rounds that are between 1/16" and 1/8" thick. The thicker you cut your potatoes, the less cutting you'll have to do, but the fewer layers you'll have in your finished gratin. If you're using a mandoline, be sure to use the hand guard and/or a cut-proof glove.
- Strain the solids out of the milk mixture through a fine mesh sieve and move the strained milk to a medium sized mixing bowl. Dip each potato slice into the milk, and begin layering them in the baking dish. Try to keep the layers even and flat (no overlapping). You can cut some slices in half to make them fit neatly to the edge, though this isn't necessary. Continue stacking until you're out of potatoes, then pour any of the remaining cream on top.
- Cook uncovered in the oven for 90 minutes. The potatoes should be soft and golden, without any burning. You can stop here, or continue onto step 5.
- Optional: Compress your potatoes by stacking a similarly-sized vessel right on top of them (ideally with a sheet of parchment between the two to prevent sticking), and then adding weight on top. We used a glass storage container and put a cast iron pan on top.
- Let it sit for about 30 minutes. (This step compresses your potatoes so they slice perfectly, but it can be skipped if you're short on time. However, you do have to preheat the oven to broil for the next step, so you might as well compress the potatoes while you wait!)
- Preheat your oven to broil. After the 30 minutes are up, sprinkle the top of the potatoes with the shredded cheese, and broil until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Let cool slightly, then cut into squares or triangles and enjoy!
Notes
Make ahead of time: Follow the steps up to compressing your potatoes, and then cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When it's nearly time to eat, add them to a 325˚F oven until they're warmed through, about 10-15 minutes. Then, sprinkle cheese over the top and turn on your oven's broiler to high. Broil until golden brown and bubbly and enjoy!
Storage: To store, move to an airtight container and refrigerate. Enjoy within 3-5 days. To reheat, add to a 325˚F oven and heat until warmed through.
We used an 8x10" baking dish. If you plan on using a 9x13" dish, but want your gratin to be the same height you see in the photos, you'll want to use 4 pounds of potatoes and increase the quantities of the milk, cream, herbs, spices and garlic by 25%.
Cheese can burn quickly under the broiler, so keep an eye on it as it broils. You don't want to ruin your beautiful potatoes in the final moments!
If you use Yukon Gold potatoes (or yellow potatoes), you don't need to peel them.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Category: Side dishes
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 176
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 400.2 mg
- Fat: 7.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.1 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 5.9 g