Gratin Dauphinoise

The picture, taken after lunch because I forgot to snap one before, makes this look almost like a hashbrown casserole - that's just the grated cheese on top that melted funny. It's actually sliced potatoes in herbed heavy cream topped with grated gruyere. And it's delicious.

Everytime we have a "holiday" meal, like Easter lunch which I made this for, I debate what kind of starch to make. Because I love them all. Elly Says Opa had this gratin dish on her blog that sounded delicious and different than the normal heavyonthecheese scalloped potatoes I have made in the past. Plus it has gruyere in it - and who doesn't love gruyere? I adapted it some to use items I already had on hand.

The only issue I had was that some of the potatoes that were stacked right on top of each other didn't cook as evenly as the other parts, which meant a few crunchier pieces among the delicious soft ones. Next time, I'd make sure they were spread out more and maybe bake it a few more minutes.

Regular gruyere was more expensive than the smoked gruyere so guess which kind I used?

This dish was creamy, rich, and downright sinful. Definitely a once a year splurge! I prepped the entire dish on Saturday night - short of baking it - covered it tightly in foil and put it in the fridge overnight. Then I just let the dish come to room temp when we got in from church and baked it before lunch was served.

Gratin Dauphinoise
makes 8 servings
8 small-medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices
2 cup heavy cream
10 garlic cloves, slightly crushed, divided
2 sprig thyme
2 sprig of rosemary (I used minced rosemary, which I left in the dish when it baked)
2 sprig of parsley
salt and pepper
freshly ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. butter
4 oz. grated gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 350

Place the potatoes in a pot and add the cream, 8 of the garlic cloves, and herbs. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and discard the garlic and herbs.

Use the two remaining cloves of garlic to rub around the inside of a 9x13 casserole dish, then butter the gratin dish so it's evenly coated. Pour the potatoes and cream into the baking dish and top with the grated cheese. Cook for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are brown and bubbling. Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving.