GRATIN DAUPHINOIS MADAME LARACINE

This recipe is from an incredible book that was recommended to me quite a few years ago by a French friend and chef - 'Bistro cooking'. There are some extremely good recipes collected by this writer, over the years, while going around France and eating at French Bistros. There are so many different ways of making a potato gratin.... I find that sometimes it is very hard to get the potatoes cooked well, even though I have cut them very thinly. This recipe is different for the fact that you parboil the potatoes with milk, garlic and bay leaves, and then you put them in the oven to make the gratin. It is just so beautiful that you have to stop yourself from eating the whole lot!!!

INGREDIENTS

1.5 kg baking potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced

2 cups full milk

3 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 tsp salt

3 fresh bay leaves

ground nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup creme fraiche or double cream

2 cups grated Gruyere or Cheddar

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 190 C

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with the milk and 2 cups of water.

Add the garlic, salt and bay leaves.

Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so that the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring from time to time, until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart, about 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the potatoes to a gratin dish.

Sprinkle with the nutmeg, pepper, half the creme fraiche and half of the cheese.

Cover with the remaining potatoes, and sprinkle again with nutmeg, pepper and the remaining creme fraiche and cheese.

Bake the gratin until crisp and golden on top, about 1 hour.

Serve immediately.

SERVES 4-6

Serve this gratin with any meat dishes. This time, I served it with Butterflied Chicken - see recipe in blog. It was something to die for. Real comfort food.

Variation from Lantern Cookery Classics by Karen Martini:

Put the milk, garlic and bay leaf in a pot and warm over low heat. Then add salt and a little pepper and nutmeg. Just before putting the potatoes in the oven, put a ladleful of milk in the bottom of a cast iron pot, followed by the raw potatoes, season with salt and pepper and add some of the cream and cheese. Continue making layers as in the photo and finish with a layer of milk, cream and cheese. Cover with baking paper and put the lid on. Bake for one hour in a pre-heated 200C oven. After this time, uncover and continue in the oven for another 15 minutes. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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