Madame Laracine's Gratin Dauphinois (Madame Laracine's Potato Gratin)
- Total Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 3pounds medium-sized russet potatoes, peeled and sliced very thinly
- 2cups milk
- 2cups water
- 3cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- Sea salt to taste
- 3bay leaves
- Freshly ground nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
- 10ounces Gruyere cheese, freshly grated
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
377 calories; 19 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 828 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.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Step 2
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with the milk and water. Add the garlic, salt and bay leaves and, with the pan partially covered, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so that the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring from time to time, until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart, about 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Using a large, flat strainer, transfer half the potatoes to an eight-cup gratin dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg, pepper, half the cream and half the cheese. Cover with the remaining potatoes and sprinkle again with pepper, nutmeg and the remaining cream and cheese. (Discard the milk, water and herbs in which the potatoes were cooked.)
- Step 4
Bake until the gratin is crisp and golden on top, about one hour. Serve immediately.
- Wine recommendation:A full-bodied white, such as a Tokay d'Alsace.
Private Notes
Comments
You have 2 options:
1) Prepare through the end of Step 3, cover & refrigerate
until ready to bake. Then bake until crisp & golden, about
60-70 minutes. This will give best results.
2) Prepare completely then let stand uncovered at room temp
for up to 2 hours; reheat in a 375 oven for 20+ minutes until
crisp and bubbling at the edges. Timing will vary depending on
the depth of the baking dish.
Real Gruyere is the key to success. Don't substitute.
This is so good that it should be illegal! I reduced the cooking time by 10 minutes. Next time I will add a few thyme branches to the potato-cooking liquid.
Make sure you salt each of the two layers decently. Salted cooking water isn't enough salt.
A couple of things I learned the hard way - make the potato slices 1/4 of an inch thick - or they break too easily - even if I had boiled my 1/8 inches slices less, I don’t think the consistency would have been right. Monitor the potatoes when in the milk - so that they are a little underdone when you put them in the gratin dish. Next time I’d try creme friache or less cream - it was too much liquid w just cream. This would be my biggest tip - put the gratin dish on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over onto the bottom of your oven - prevents the smoke alarm from going off three times while making Easter dinner. So, w a little paying attention - this will be great!
This has been a staple for over 10 yrs. I use heavy crème instead of milk. I also add 4 sprigs of thyme to the garlic & bay leaves while bathing them. I add chives to layers before baking as well. Anyone have thoughts on convection bake or pure convection versus normal bake? Mine seems to become too dark on top before the bubbling occurs
Death by cheese, heavy cream & potatoes! Personally, I think the Nutmeg is so good! nrcccrn