Recipe
Gratin dauphinois
Potatoes baked slowly in garlic-infused cream until silky inside and golden on top - the pride of the Dauphiné. No cheese, no eggs: just potato, cream and patience.
Gratin dauphinois takes about 95 minutes and makes 4 servings. Each serving has 555 kcal.
- Preparation
- 20 minutes
- Cooking
- 75 minutes
- Total time
- 95 minutes
- Servings
- 4
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 555 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbohydrates
- 48 g
- Fat
- 36 g
Ingredients
- Potatoes1 kg
- Whipping cream400 ml
- Milk200 ml
- Garlic2 cloves
- Butter20 g
- Nutmeg1 pinch
- Salt1 pinch
- Pepper1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
Peel the potatoes and slice them 3 mm thin, with a mandoline or a steady knife. Do not rinse the slices - their starch will thicken the cream.
Tip: Even slices matter more than anything - 3 mm, all the same, or the layers cook at different speeds. And never rinse them: the starch is the only thickener in this dish.
- 2
Bring the cream, milk, halved garlic cloves, salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg to a bare simmer, then take off the heat and let it infuse for 10 minutes.
- 3
Rub a baking dish with the garlic cloves fished out of the cream, then butter it generously.
- 4
Layer the potato slices in the dish, overlapping them like roof tiles and pressing each layer down flat.
- 5
Pour the warm cream mixture over the potatoes until they are just submerged, pressing them down with a spatula.
Tip: Purists will tell you a true dauphinois never sees cheese - the potato starch and cream are enough. If you cannot resist a handful of gruyère on top, fine, but then you have made a gratin savoyard.
- 6
Bake at 160 °C for 60–75 minutes, until a knife slides through without resistance and the top is deep golden.
- 7
Rest the gratin for 10–15 minutes before serving, so it slices cleanly instead of flooding the plate.
Cooking methods
On the stove
The stovetop only warms and infuses the cream - a small saucepan over low heat, and pull it off at the first lazy bubbles. Everything else happens in the oven at a patient 160 °C; resist the urge to turn it up.
On induction
Infuse the cream on level 3 of 9 - induction can scorch dairy fast, so stay low and do not walk away. The bake itself is standard oven work; induction plays no further part.
Over an open fire
Possible in a Dutch oven: layer the gratin inside, put embers under the pot and a good shovelful on the lid, and bake about an hour, rotating the lid now and then. The top will not brown as evenly as in an oven, but the smoky note is lovely.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 95 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 4 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Infuse the cream on level 3 of 9 - induction can scorch dairy fast, so stay low and do not walk away. The bake itself is standard oven work; induction plays no further part.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Possible in a Dutch oven: layer the gratin inside, put embers under the pot and a good shovelful on the lid, and bake about an hour, rotating the lid now and then. The top will not brown as evenly as in an oven, but the smoky note is lovely.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian, glutenFree.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
