Dauphinoise Potatoes
Still cooking in ‘real’ time (must stop that) … but that means, here in the UK, it was Mothering Sunday yesterday. In fact, for us we’d also decided to celebrate my eldest son’s 22nd birthday – a little late – so the seven of us would be together.
Dom is nothing if not predictable regarding his choice of ‘birthday’ food. Roast beef it was – and I took out a second mortgage and bought a rib. For those of you worrying I was over-looked – I woke up to a sausage ciabatta with caramelised red onion. (Thanks Liddy!)
Roast Potatoes always seem a bit-too-much when combined with Yorkshire Pudding. Since I’m not allowed to cook Roast Beef without Yorkshire Pudding, I tend towards Dauphinoise Potatoes. I don’t go there if I’m serving my beef with Cauliflower Cheese or cauliflower in a white sauce, but since I wasn’t …
This is also lovely with Roast Lamb, by the way.
Potatoes cooked à la Dauphinoise is a ‘classic’ and is a speciality of Lans-en-Vercor, Villard-de Lans, Autrans and Sassenage. If you’re a purist you’ll want to butter a gratin dish, rub it with a peeled garlic clove, arrange slices of potatoes and cover it with single cream. Gratin Dauphinois is made with a mixture of milk, cream and eggs.
I’m not a purist.
It starts with potato. I prefer a ‘fluffy’ potato, because I like a softer texture Dauphinoise. Exactly the same as I use for chips and mashed potato. Peeled. Roughly, I use about 100g of potato per serving. It’s super rich – and since I’m cooking for people I care about I don’t want to lead them into temptation.
A mandolin makes easy work of slicing the potatoes into 4mm discs. Cutting the slices evenly means the potato will cook in the same time. That’s important as a Dauphinoise which is a combination of mushy and under-cooked potato isn’t worth the calories. Next best would be a food processor. By hand .. best of luck!
I’m firmly in the camp of don’t rinse. I want the starch to thicken the cream.
I always pre-cook my sliced potatoes in the creamy milk because it removes potential trauma of under-cooked and/or curdled Dauphinoise. I use a mix of milk and double cream because I rarely have single cream in my fridge and it’s become a habit.
And I like a hit of garlic – which I grate in.
I bring the creamy milk to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
And add the potato slices. It’s worth putting them in with a bit of care as they can often stick together. You want each disc to be coated in the creamy mixture. The cream should just be able to cover the top of the potatoes if you push them down with the back of a spoon. Over the lowest of low heats, cook until the potatoes are almost cooked. Mine go into the Simmering Oven of my Aga and I leave them there for 15 minutes. On a hob, you’ll need to give it a bit of care or it’ll catch on the bottom.
Pour the almost-cooked potato slices into a buttered dish. Traditionally, you’d be aiming for a 5cm depth.
I’m a real convert to ceramic-coated saucepans for ‘milky’ sauces. Even so, here’s the bottom of my pan. If any of the slices have ‘caught’ leave them behind.
Then it’s into the oven. I use my Aga Baking Oven. Conventionally, it’s Gas Mark 2/150ºC/300ºF.
For about 45 minutes – 1 hour. Mine was slightly less than 5cm in depth and took just 30 minutes on the rack at the bottom of the Aga Baking Oven.
Eat.
Dauphinoise Potatoes – Serves 7
- A generous knob of unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- 100ml/3½oz full fat milk
- 300ml/10fl oz double cream
- 700g/1½lb ‘floury’ potatoes
- Salt and Pepper, to taste.
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 2/150ºC/300ºF.
Butter your ovenproof dish.
Peel and evenly slice the potatoes to about 4mm.
Put the cream, milk and grated garlic into a saucepan and bring to a boil over a low heat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Without rinsing the potato, add the slices to the cream and milk. Press down. The potatoes should be just covered. Bring slowly back to the boil and simmer on the lowest-of-low heat for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked. The starch in the potatoes will thicken the creamy milk.
Transfer to the buttered dish and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the top is browned.
Eat.
(Any leftovers can be re-heated at Gas Mark 1/140ºC/275ºF for 40 minutes or so. Served with a crisp green salad it makes a lovely vegetarian lunch.)