Potatoes are so incredibly versatile and, of course, they are delicious.
Some meals/occasions call for a simple bowl of mashed potatoes, but others call for something a little more elevated, fancy, aesthetically pleasing and this is when you make todays potato gratin…
Let’s get started…
Begin by choosing your potatoes. This gratin can be made with all white or gold potatoes, all sweet potatoes or a mix of both like I am doing today. I am pretty obsessed with how beautiful the different colors look in this dish, so I am using Okinawan purple sweet potatoes, regular sweet potatoes and russet potatoes. This not only gives me the beautiful appearance, but it also gives options for the people who don’t love sweet potatoes.
If you want to do this gratin with all sweet potatoes, you can swap the russets for white fleshed sweet potatoes and have the same look.
To fill a 2 quart baking dish (a square 9″x9″ or rectangular 11″x7″ deep baking dish), you will need about 3 pounds of potatoes or 6 medium potatoes. I used 2 medium to medium large of each type of potato and had plenty to work with.
I highly recommend using a mandolin to thinly and uniformly slice the potatoes. Ideally, all of the potatoes will be less than 1/4″ thick and this is tough to do by hand. If the potatoes are too thick, they will not be tender in the time I suggest for this recipe.
Once the potatoes are all sliced nice and thin, finely shred a heaping cup of parmesan or parmigiano reggiano and a heaping cup of gruyère.
In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of heavy cream with 3/4 cup of the shredded parmesan or parmigiano reggiano, 3/4 cup of the shredded gruyère, 4 cloves of finely minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and set aside for now.
Generously butter the inside of a deep 2 quart (or similar sized) baking dish.
If you are making this recipe using all the same style potatoes, you can add them all into the heavy cream mixture and mix until completely combined, but if you are using different types of potatoes and want to keep them stacked individually then I suggest using a separate bowl to coat each type of potato in the heavy cream mixture before stacking in the baking dish.
Once the first type of potato is tossed in the heavy cream mixture, begin forming stacks and place them into your buttered baking dish. Be sure to separate the potatoes to be sure that some of the heavy cream gets in between each one. This will help to keep all the potatoes moist and well seasoned as they bake.
Repeat the process until all of the potatoes are coated and stacked in the baking dish. Pour the remaining heavy cream mixture over the stacked potatoes and cover the baking dish tightly with foil.
Bake the gratin covered in foil for 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven and then transfer the baking dish out onto a heat proof surface (keep the oven at 400 degrees). Remove the foil, add the remaining shredded cheese over the top surface and bake uncovered for an additional 25 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender.
If you think about traditional au gratin, the potatoes are usually completely or at least mostly submersed in a creamy sauce and while we can all agree that this is delicious, this stacked gratin is different in a very wonderful way…
Initially, all of the potatoes are coated in that garlicky, cheesy cream, so they all get a good hit of flavor. As they bake, the extra cream makes the bottom of the potatoes tender and creamy, but the tops of the stacks get a little crispy and the contrast between the creamy bits and the crispy bits makes this gratin uniquely fabulous.
This potato gratin pairs perfectly with roast chicken, shredded beef or pan seared fish. It also makes a perfect holiday side dish!
If you are looking for a beautiful, delicious potato dish that will be the show stopping main event for any dinner spread and something that everyone will love then I would love for you to make this stacked potato gratin.
You are going to love it!
Potato Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 cups of heavy cream
- 1 cup of parmesan or parmigiano reggiano, finely shredded
- 1 cup of gruyère, finely shredded
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 3 pounds of potatoes, very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons of butter, softened
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Add 3 cups of heavy cream, 3/4 cup of finely grated parmesan or parmigiano reggiano, 3/4 cup of finely grated Gruyère, 4 cloves of finely minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper in a large bowl and mix until combined
- Add the thinly sliced potatoes and toss until all of the slices are completely cooked
- Prepare a deep 2 quart baking dish by greasing the interior surface with 2 tablespoons of butter
- Arrange the potatoes in rows, packing them in tightly and uniformly
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil
- Bake on the center rack of a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes
- Transfer the baking dish onto a heat proof surface (such as a wooden cutting board) *Note: leave the oven door shut and oven set at 400 degrees
- Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining parmesan and gruyère over the potatoes
- Return the baking dish to the oven and bake at 400 degrees for an additional 25 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender
- Once the potatoes are soft and the cheese is melted and beginning to brown, transfer the baking dish onto a cooling rack
- Allow the gratin to cool for about 10 minutes before serving
- Garnish with additional shredded parmesan and finely chopped parsley (optional)
