I absolutely adore Gratin Dauphinois!

It is one of the most indulgent ways to eat potatoes and, for years, I thought this was a really complicated recipe to make.  I then watched Chef James Martin make them on TV once and he had a method of cooking them in a pan that made me think “Ah, I can do that!” so over the years, I’ve adapted ingredients and quantities and put my own spin on the recipe.  The great thing about cooking is that, even with classic dishes that have been established for a very long time, everyone can put their own ‘stamp’ on a dish and make it their own 🙂

This is my take on the classic Gratin Dauphinois (Dauphinoise Potatoes / Potatoes Dauphinoise Style) – whatever you want to call it 😉

These potatoes are particularly delicious as an accompaniment to roast lamb!

Ingredients

For approx. 6 portions (depends how hungry you are!)

• 1kg (approx.) potatoes (roughly 8-10 potatoes), peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 50g fresh salted butter
• 600ml fresh double cream
• 300ml fresh milk
• 150-200g (depends how cheesy you like it) Gruyère or Emmenthal cheese
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground nutmeg, to taste

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 180ºC (fan-assisted) – adjust heat & timings for non-fan-assisted ovens
• In a deep Sauté Pan, melt the butter on a low heat
• Add the thinly sliced shallots and finely chopped garlic to the butter and keep these on a low heat for about 5 mins, or until they have softened and acquired a ‘transparent’ look
• Add the double cream and the milk (I like using the milk to ‘rinse out’ the double cream pot) to the pan
• Season (to taste) with salt and freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
• Stir and bring to the boil
• Carefully place the potatoes into the creamy mixture
• Stir to ensure the potato slices separate and the creamy mixture coats all slices – there should be a slight excess of liquid
• Gently bring back to the boil
• As soon as it comes to the boil, you’ll see the liquid starting to thicken – at this point, transfer the potatoes and cream to a DEEP oven-proof dish
• Spread out evenly in the oven-proof dish
• Sprinkle on the grated cheese evenly
• Place in the oven and cook for approximately 50 mins (to check, poke with a skewer or fork…the potatoes should be soft and the cheese golden)

The dish is best left to rest for 10 mins or so after it comes out of the oven, to allow the creamy sauce to thicken a little bit, making it easier and more attractive to serve…that’s if you can wait that long!!!

It also tastes delicious (probably even better!) re-heated the next day, as this allows all the flavours to infuse.

Gloriously Simple, Gloriously Good!

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