Gratin Dauphinois

There are few dishes as luscious, crave-worthy and dramatic as a traditional Gratin Dauphinois — French potatoes au gratin. As long as you have a mandoline to slice the potatoes, it’s actually pretty easy to make. (If you don’t have a mandoline, try this recipe.)

READ: To make a traditional gratin dauphinois, back away from the cheese

You’ll need a baking dish or gratin dish that holds about 1.75 to 2 quarts; the one pictured below is from Sur La Table. If you want to buy one from Amazon, this one from Lodge (which we have not tried) looks like the right size. For reference and in case it’s helpful, ours measures 11 inches by 7 3/4 inches on top and 10 1/2 by 7 inches on the bottom; it’s 2 1/4 inches deep.

To get the salt right, have the 1 teaspoon measured out in a small bowl or dish, and use some of it to salt each layer.

Serves 4 - 5.

Ingredients

1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small bits, plus more for buttering the baking dish

2 pounds Yukon Gold or other firm yellow potatoes, medium-sized

1 teaspoon salt

Nutmeg for grating

1 1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the inside of a 1.75 to 2 quart gratin dish or baking dish with the garlic clove, then discard the garlic. Butter the dish.

2. Peel the potatoes and use a mandoline (or a knife, if you don’t have a mandoline), to slice them into 3 mm / 1/8 inch rounds. Arrange the potato slices, slightly overlapping, in concentric rings or a continuous spiral, around the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle with some of the salt, and a grate a little nutmeg over the top (use a light hand with the nutmeg), and distribute about a third of the butter over it. Repeat with more layers of potato, adding salt, nutmeg and butter to each. Ideally, you’ll want to use up all the salt and butter on the second-to-last layer; the top layer shouldn’t have any salt, nutmeg or butter on top of it. (Though if you still have more, go ahead and toss it on there.)

3. Pour 1 cup of the cream over the layered potatoes (reserving 1/3 cup for later). Put the baking dish in the oven and bake for one hour.

4. Remove the baking dish from the oven, and turn the heat up to 375 degrees. Pour the remaining 1/3 cup of cream over the top of the gratin, distributing it evenly. Bake till the top is golden brown and crusty, about another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

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