January 09, 2024 / In food , veggie / Tagged as: butter, garlic, potatoes, cream, milk, pepper, oregano, pecorino

Potato Gratin

Total Cook Time

2 hours

Ingredients

  • 10g butter
  • 1 clove garlic, halved
  • 850g potatoes (waxy ones… maris piper or king edwards)
  • 200ml cream
  • 200ml milk (ideally full fat milk)
  • 1 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, roasted and crushed.
  • 75g pecorino or parmesan or a mix of both, grated.

Method

  1. Preheat fan oven to 165 C.
  2. Gently roast black peppercorns in a pan for a few minutes then break up with a mortar & pestle.
  3. Cut a garlic clove in half and run the cut half over the interior of the dish to leave a slight trace of flavour.
  4. Grease the inside of the dish with a knob of butter.
  5. Peel and very thinly slice the potatoes; the thicker they are the longer they take to cook. Ideally 2-3 mm thick.
  6. Mix the cream, milk and pepper in a bowl. Adding a litte spice or herb is also possible e.g oregano.
  7. Add a thin layer of potatoes in the bottom of the dish. Pour a little of the milk mixture over the top.
  8. Sprinkle a little cheese over the top. Sprinkle a very small amount of salt over the top.
  9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until the potatoes are all in the dish.
  10. Garnish with the remaining cheese.
  11. Cover with tin foil and put in the oven for 70-80 minutes. Remove the foil 20 minutes before the end.

Note

Cream is used in the recipe but milk alone will also work.

Salt can be minimised when you consider cheese will bring some salt to the mixture.

Add a little herb or spice as you desire. For example oregano, nutmeg or paprika.

The dish will keep in a fridge for a few days (ideally in an airtight container). Freezing it is also an option.

Source

Approaches:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/jan/09/cacio-e-pepe-potato-gratin-chicory-anchovy-salad-recipe-rosie-birkett

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/nov/17/how-to-make-gratin-dauphinois-recipe-felicity-cloake-masterclass

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/18/gratin-dauphinoise-classic-nigel-slater

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/apr/11/how-cook-perfect-gratin-dauphinois

https://alldayintheoven.com/potato-gratin/