Gratin dauphinois
If you want to be a real french person - yes, yes you want it - then you must know how to make a good “gratin”. And here, you are not going to learn how to make any gratin, you are going to make the incredible, the one and only: Gratin dauphinois or “pommes de terre à la dauphinoise” if you will.
When I was little, this dish was reserved for big family dinners, usually Christmas. And since it’s been one of my all-time favourites since day one, you can imagine how I spent the entire year dying to finally eat it (the best version, from my grandma –sorry mom). My first heartbreak? It was Christmas 2008, when, for whatever reasons, my grandma decided not to make it. Instead, she only went with cardoon gratin, the worse gratin ever, and I’m still so upset about it. Like, seriously, what the hell? Way to ruin Christmas, Grandma.
Let’s tackle a hot topic on the french soil right off the bat: a true gratin dauphinois does not contain cheese. Nope, not even a little sprinkle on top. And yes, I know what you’re thinking—but it’s called a gratin! ok, I hear you. But if you’re already reaching for the cheese, somewhere in France, a purist is dramatically clutching their pearls (or their potato peeler). Now, if annoying a French traditionalist feels like a win in your book, well who am I to stop you… two birds, one stone, I guess? That being said, I’m not one of them. So, if cheese makes your heart happy, by all means, go for it. If it’s the idea of breaking unspoken culinary rules that gives you joy, okay, that’s a little mischievous, but I’ll allow it.
Personally, I’d recommend giving the classic version a shot first. You might be surprised—it’s rich, creamy, and enough to stand tall without the cheese. And trust me, as someone who loves to sneak cheese into just about anything, that’s saying a lot.
Back to our main subject; How do you make it?
Ingredients
- 🥔 1kg of potatoes
- 🐮 50cl of liquid cream, with a good fat percentage, like 30%
- 🥛 500cl of milk (Usually that’s the last thing you add to cover nicely everything up, so this is a veeery big approximation, I don’t really know to be honest. Just have enough and do not start cooking this with only one sip left of your milk)
- 🧂 Salt, pepper, garlic and nutmag to your taste (Kristin, double your taste, I’m begging you)
Materials
You need a mandoline, not the instrument (unless you want some entertainment), but the cooking tool. Or it could be anything that helps you cut very thin slices of potatoes. Could be a knife, even, if you are patient enough (been there, done that, and I thought it would be my last day on earth).
Also, you need an oven.
Instruction
You need to peel and rinse with water the potatoes. Then, cut them into thin slices but not paper thin, like 2-3mm.
Put the potato slices into a baking dish, the one that will go inside the oven. Add some salt, pepper, and mix everything with your hands.
Add the liquid cream on top of it evenly and then add the milk. At the end of this step, the potatoes should be fully covered but not completely drowning, you should still kinda see them (sorry, worse explanation ever, but you get me… right?).
This is the cursed step, cheese or no cheese? Choose wisely.
Put the baking dish into the oven for 1h minimum at 200°C on convection, if your oven has this feature. Check on the gratin after 45min, just to see how he is doing, and adjust the time accordingly (taking it out immediately or leaving it longer, I think 1h is good but I don’t want to be responsible of a disaster).
Take it out, and eat it!