What varieties of potatoes should you choose for gratin dauphinois?
If you thought you could use just any potatoes for your gratin, think again. Indeed, as with tomatoes or pears, each variety is adapted to specific cooking. The potato family is divided into three categories: firm, floury and soft-fleshed potatoes.
In the first, we find Belle de Fontenay or Amandine, perfect for steaming and browning.
Potatoes with floury flesh like Bintje and Caesar are much more tender. Rich in starch, they make crispy-soft fries and creamy purees.
Finally, we arrive at the category of potatoes with soft flesh, to which the Mona Lisa and the Agata belong. This is good, because it is precisely the one that is most suitable for cooking in the oven. These varieties have the advantage of being soft while still holding up well when cooked. Exactly what we look for in a gratin.
How do you cook gratin dauphinois?
When it comes to cooking, two methods compete. The first is to pre-cook the potato slices in a mixture of cream and milk. Then place them in the gratin dish, before covering them with the cooking liquid then baking for 30 minutes at 180°C.
Another method: skip the poaching step and put the raw potato strips directly in the dish, before cooking everything at 150°C for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Be careful not to exceed 180°C when cooking your gratin. It would risk coloring too quickly and the potatoes would not have time to soak up the cream. Gentle and slow cooking is precisely the secret to a deliciously creamy gratin dauphinois.
Eggs and cheese in the gratin dauphinois?
Let’s put an end to this heresy, gratin dauphinois with eggs and gruyere is a no. Onions and diced ham are also no. Or maybe we need to find another name for it.
In its traditional version, gratin dauphinois is only composed of potatoes, milk, cream, garlic and salt. This dish, rustic par excellence, cannot be embellished with expensive ingredients. They would also risk spoiling its creaminess.
A tolerance does apply, however, regarding the use of pepper and nutmeg, but these are the only exceptions. Apart from that, forget the embellishments at the risk of distorting the recipe.
The recipe for gratin dauphinois
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour
For 4 people
- 1.2 kg Mona Lisa potatoes
- 50 cl of crème fraîche
- 50 cl of milk
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 6 pinches of grated nutmeg
- 40 g of unsalted butter
- salt, white pepper
Peel the potatoes, rinse and dry them. Cut them into 2 mm thick slices.
Peel the garlic cloves, reserve one and chop the other. Bring the crème fraîche and milk to the boil. Lightly salt and pepper, add the nutmeg, the chopped garlic clove and the potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over moderate heat then let sit at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 160°C. With the whole garlic clove, rub a gratin dish and butter it.
Arrange the potatoes in even layers in the dish and cover them with the cream/milk mixture. To finish, sprinkle the rest of the butter cut into hazelnuts.
Place in the oven for around 50 minutes until the gratin is golden brown. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
