Gratin Dauphinois Recipe

Gratin Dauphinois Recipe

Just the other day I cooked gratin dauphinois as part of our New Year's Eve dinner as we celebrated with family and a bunch of friends. We welcomed in the new year with amongst other things, French martinis, baked Camembert infused with rosemary, slow roast pork with vegetables and gratin dauphinois and a 'to-die-for' tarte au citron. Food links people and events together and this New Year's Eve was no exception for me.

Realising that many of the dishes I cooked have recipes on the blog available for you, but that I'd not shared a recipe on how to cook gratin dauphinois already, I thought it high-time that this easy classic French dish got its own post. Also, for all of you who messaged and emailed me asking for the recipe after our Facebook and Instagram New Year's Eve posts, here it is...

Gratin Dauphinois Recipe

The basics you need to know about gratin dauphinois is that it's a gratin of sliced raw potatoes baked in cream, from the Dauphiné region in south-eastern France. There are many variants of the name of the dish, including pommes de terre dauphinoise, potatoes à la dauphinoise and gratin de pommes à la dauphinoise.

There are also versions of the dish itself, some without the topping of cheese and some without grated cheese added between the layers of potato slices. We however love the crispy topping when a sprinkle of grated cheese is added to the top. And being lovers of all things cheesy, we also add grated Gruyère throughout the dish. I've given options for with and without cheese below. 

Floury potatoes are best to use because they soak up the liquid in the gratin dauphinois and give it a softer, fluffy texture. 

Serves 6 |  Prep 25 mins cook 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1kg floury potatoes
• Butter - small amount to rub over dish
• Clove of garlic
• 300ml full-fat milk
• 300ml double cream
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• 65g Grated Gruyère cheese - if adding cheese

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Peel and slice the potatoes and pat dry.
• Rub the surface of your baking dish with the butter and then with the clove of garlic.
• Place the garlic clove, milk, cream and thyme leaves into a saucepan reserving some of the thyme for decoration. Heat gently to infuse but do not boil. Strain the liquid into a bowl, add a pinch of nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
• Layer a third of the potato slices in the dish, then pour in a third of the liquid. Add grated cheese to this layer if adding cheese.
• Repeat twice more (add grated cheese to these layers and top layer if adding cheese), then place the dish in the oven to bake for around an hour until golden and a skewer easily glides through the potatoes. If the top gets too brown before the liquid has absorbed or the skewer easily pierces the potato, then cover loosely with foil before continuing to cook. 
• Add the remainder of the fresh thyme sprig to decorate before serving.

So there's my gratin dauphinois recipe to try. It's a regular dish at our family table and a great comfort food for when you feel like a little extra cozy 'food hug' - I do hope you enjoy it!

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More French recipes to try