Gratin Dauphinois

February 10, 2010

Serves 2 with leftovers

This gratin of sliced potatoes baked with cream and milk is a French classic. Some versions contain grated cheese, but this one does not. You can also blanch the potatoes first, which we skip here. Slice the potatoes very thinly, either on a hand-held slicing gadget or fancy mandoline. Food-processor feed tubes are so narrow that potatoes must be halved or quartered lengthwise first, which will taste fine in the finished gratin, but it won’t look as elegant in the dish. Layer the potatoes with milk, cream, salt, and pepper. Not much to it.

Butter (for the dish) 4 russet potatoes, peeled and left in cold water 1/2 cup whole milk 1 cup heavy cream Salt and pepper, to taste 1 clove garlic, cut into tiny matchsticks 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Set the oven at 375 degrees. Butter a deep 11-by-7-inch baking dish (1 1/2-quart capacity).

2. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the baking dish. Pour over some of the milk and cream; add salt, pepper, and garlic. Continue layering until all the potatoes and milk and cream are used. Dot the top with butter.

3. Bake the potatoes for 70 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. If the top isn’t brown enough, slide the potatoes under the broiler for 1 minute, watching the dish carefully. (Save half the potatoes for the tortilla.)

Sheryl Julian