Potato Gratin With Swiss Chard and Sumac Onions

By Yotam Ottolenghi

Published March 18, 2020

Potato Gratin With Swiss Chard and Sumac Onions
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
2½ hours
Rating
4(353)
Comments
Read comments

This is not your typical potato gratin: The Cheddar and brown-butter pine nuts make it rich but not overly so, as the sumac onions and lemon juice lift the gratin to vibrant heights. Sumac is a tart and astringent spice used heavily in Middle Eastern cooking, adding sharpness to food where needed. These onions are great thrown into pasta and salads, or served with roasted chicken. The gratin can stand as a veggie main with a zesty salad alongside, as an accompaniment to your protein of choice or as part of a larger spread. Get ahead by making the onions and preparing all your ingredients (except the potatoes) well in advance, so they’re ready to be assembled together before baking. Once the whole thing goes in the oven, you’ll have ample time to get any accompaniments ready. You can serve this warm, but it also sits well to be served at room temperature.

Featured in: This Gratin Lets Swiss Chard Do the Talking

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

    For the Sumac Onions

    • ¼cup/60 milliliters olive oil
    • 1½pounds/680 grams red onions, peeled, halved and sliced about 1-centimeter thick
    • Kosher salt
    • 1½tablespoons dried sumac

    For the Gratin

    • 2½pounds/1.1 kilograms (skin-on) Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced using a mandoline or very thinly sliced into rounds
    • 1¾pounds/800 grams green Swiss chard, leaves torn from stems (stems reserved for another use) and roughly shredded (about 6 packed cups/315 grams)
    • ⅔cup/30 grams roughly chopped fresh parsley, plus 2 tablespoons/5 grams finely chopped parsley for garnish
    • 6garlic cloves, minced
    • 2teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus ¼ cup juice (from 2 lemons)
    • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • 8ounces/225 grams mature Cheddar, roughly grated (about 3 cups)
    • 1cup/240 milliliters chicken or vegetable stock
    • 3tablespoons heavy cream (double cream)

    For the Brown-butter Pine Nuts

    • 2tablespoons/30 grams unsalted butter
    • ½cup/65 grams pine nuts
    • Kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

545 calories; 35 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 20 grams protein; 1023 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the onions: Add the oil to a large, ovenproof lidded skillet and heat over medium-high. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt to the hot oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the sumac and remove from the heat. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

  3. Step 3

    Prepare the gratin: Add the potatoes, shredded chard, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to a large bowl and mix well to combine. Fold through three-quarters of the sumac onions and half the cheese, then transfer everything to the skillet, smoothing out the top to even out the potato slices. In a measuring cup or bowl, combine the stock, cream and lemon juice, and pour this all over the potato mixture. Cover tightly with foil, then top with the lid. Bake for 1 hour.

  4. Step 4

    Remove the gratin from the oven, and remove the lid and foil. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, until golden and bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let gratin settle for 10 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Meanwhile, prepare the pine nuts: Add the butter to a medium skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the pine nuts and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are golden and the butter has browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the buttered nuts to the bowl with the remaining sumac onions.

  6. Step 6

    When ready to serve, stir the extra parsley into the sumac onion mixture and spoon this all over the gratin.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
353 user ratings
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Comments

Diana

Any suggestions about replacement for sumac? Presumably something with a tart note? Allergy in our family, but I also presume (hope!) no one is dashing out for one seasoning they don't have-- given that limiting optional outings has great public health value now.

Ercolino

Looks like this is going to come in a bit over 6 lbs. It sounds delicious, so I am going to give it try, but first I will cut the ingredients in half or invite over around 12 to 15 people. On second thought, I may cut it down by three.

Em

a 10" cast iron frying pan held half the recipe. It was pretty full but cooked down a lot.

Mark

But if you do make the whole recipe, you will find the leftovers just as delicious as the first helping.

Katy

Followed advice here and halved the recipe. Not having sumac in stock, fenugreek added an interesting flavor note. Used a 12 inch cast iron pan, which cut cooking time and produced a lovely toasty product. I will make this again.

Talulah

Made this recipe but measured everything with my heart. Used three potatoes, two red onions, massive bunch of rainbow chard, and an herb that could have been parsley or cilantro (pretty sure it was parsley), one cup and a dash of stock and a bit of heavy cream . The sumac onions were awesome, put it in the oven covered for 30 mins and uncovered until the cheese was burnt on the edges. Lemony! Delicious!

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