Creamy Potato Gratin
Cream and potatoes, mingling in the heat of the oven, are almost all
you'll find in this well-loved dish. If it had cheese, it wouldn't be
truly authentic. Serve as a partner for roast meat or poultry, with a
mixed green salad, or simply on its own.
SERVES 4-6
2 kg waxy salad-style potatoes, cut in
half if large
2 liters whole milk
1 fresh bay leaf
30 g unsalted butter
550 ml whipping cream
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse sea salt
A baking dish, 30 cm long
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan with
the milk and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, add a
pinch of salt and simmer gently until part-cooked, 5-10 minutes.
Drain the potatoes. When cool enough to
handle (but still hot), slice into rounds about 3 mm thick.
Spread the butter in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange half the
potato slices in the dish and sprinkle with salt. Put the remaining
potato on top and sprinkle with more salt. Pour in the cream and
sprinkle with the grated nutmeg.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F)
Gas 4 until golden and the cream is almost absorbed, but not
completely, about 45 minutes. Serve hot.
|