The real gratin Dauphinois
The real gratin Dauphinois does not contain cheese, as its name does not indicate ...
Easy to make, it appeals to the greatest number, and is excellent to accompany a fish for example.
To succeed, it is imperative to use whole milk ! It is the same for the cream . (I know, it hurts the hips ...), as well as beautiful cloves of garlic (nothing beats the pink garlic Lautrec ) and freshly grated nutmeg . It's these little details that will make the difference.
I once heard Yannick Alleno (excuse the little ...) fervently say that you never put pepper in the potato, but always nutmeg. Neither one nor two, I definitely removed the pepper from my mashed potatoes and gratins!
As always in cooking, the cooking method is important: put the oven on static heat , not rotating.
REALIZATION: (for an oven dish about 34 x 24cm):
600g of mashed potatoes "special mashed potatoes" (especially not farms!) : They are weighed once peeled!
200g of whole milk
200g (20cl) whole liquid cream (the "Elle et Vire" is perfect)
10g of butter
2 large cloves of garlic
salt
nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 160 ° static heat , with a rack at half height.
Peel the potatoes, wash them, and slice them very thinly with the mandolin (or if not at the robot). It is important that the slices are transparent. Once cut, do not wash them, you will remove the starch potatoes, essential to gratin Dauphinois:
Place the potatoes in a saucepan, with milk and cream. Add salt, nutmeg, garlic and butter:
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes over low heat . Stir regularly so that the potatoes do not attach.
The potatoes will then be covered with a creamy cream:
At this point, taste and adjust the seasoning.
Butter your dish well. Place the potatoes in, making sure they are well covered with cream, and bake for about an hour and a half for a large one, and 45 minutes for individuals , watching the cooking well:
Plant the tip of a knife to check the cooking of the potatoes: they must be well melted:
Note :
For a more original gratin Dauphinois, add some potatoes "vitelotte": you will get a two-tone gratin very modern and surprising!
As there are only fools who do not change their minds, I recommended at the time to make this gratin with firm-fleshed potatoes, but for testing with melted apples then, I I regretted having said that! So I rectified the recipe. The gratin is much better with mealy potatoes! It is more melting. I also modified the cooking: it is better to cook it for 1h30 to 160 ° than for 1h to 180 °, as I had initially advised.
