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Thursday, April 12, 2012

In Praise of the Potato

There's always a point during Passover when I whine about all the things I can't eat.  I'm a bread person, after all, and much as I like matzoh there comes a point when I get pouty.  My husband David, who is not Jewish despite the fact that he looks more Jewish than I do, occasionally eats a piece of toast while I stare at him in despair.  In his defense, it's probably not much fun for him either.

At this point during Passover, the humble potato becomes a lifesaver.  It's carbalicious, it's warm and satisfying, and it can be made into many different incarnations over the holiday.  Mashed potatoes.  Home fries.  Baked potatoes.  The list goes on.

I am not an enormous fan of potato gratin, or scalloped potatoes, but I recently bought David a copy of Alice Waters' new book.  We knew our seder was going to be of the dairy variety due to the high number of vegetarians, so I found myself looking at dairy-heavy vegetable dishes when I came across this one.

This may be the potato gratin that changes your opinions about potato gratins.  Delicately flavored with bay leaves and fresh thyme, it is creamy but not heavy.  Unlike a lot of potato gratins, there is no cheese, just a combination of milk and cream.

And, if you use a mandoline or food processor to slice the potatoes, it goes together fast.  I had intended to do a delicate overlapping layering of the potato slices, but with fourteen people coming in the door as we were finishing the preparations, it wasn't quite that artistic.  It also accounts for the distinct lack of photos.

This recipe easily doubles.  I recommend you make it immediately before it goes into the oven so the potato slices don't discolor;  you could make the potato slices ahead of time, but Waters warns against putting them in water because the potato starch will be lost.

Alice Waters' Potato Gratin
Adapted from In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters

2 tbsp. butter, cubed, plus more for buttering the dish
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
1 tbsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
3 1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
Fresh-ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream, bay leaves, salt and vegetable stock.  Heat the mixture to a simmer;  when it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to low.

Butter a shallow, medium-sized gratin dish or casserole and set aside.  Slice the potatoes to approximately 1/8 inch thick using either a mandoline or food processor.  Immediately begin layering the potatoes into the casserole, ideally overlapping them.  However, if fourteen people are showing up at your door imminently, throw those potatoes into the dish to the best of your ability.

When the potatoes are in the dish, turn off the heat on the cream mixture and remove the bay leaves.  Pour the warm mixture over the potatoes, stopping just before it gets to the top of the potato slices.  If you overfill, it will spill over in your oven--I can attest to that.

Sprinkle the cubes of butter evenly over the gratin, then cover the pan with foil.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes;  check to make sure the potatoes can be pierced with a knife.  Then remove the foil, sprinkle the thyme and pepper over the potatoes, increase the heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are lightly browned.

At this point, there will be quite a lot of cream in the bottom of the dish.  The dish can be served immediately, or you can let it rest for another 5 to 10 minutes to allow some of the remaining cream to absorb.

Easily serves 8 as a side dish.

37 comments:

  1. Potatoes are amazing, for sure!! I have the same thing about scalloped potatoes-but these sound great!

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  2. sounds yummy, one of my Dad's favs.... gotta have a good mandolin though for sure!

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  3. I love potato gratin but only have made it once years ago. Yours looks yummy!

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  4. Scalloped potatoes ar potatoes au gratin are an all time favorite comfort food. Great choice looks delicious.

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  5. This recipe is a new one to me. It does look like it is not as heavy as most and has a lot less ingredients than I am used to. Sometimes we over do it when it comes to seasoning and flavoring things, but simple can taste a lot better. Enjoy the day!

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  6. I love Yukon Golds. They're just so good! This gratin sounds so flavorful and comforting. I simply must have some!

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  7. If there is one thing that reminds me of comfort childhood food, it's potato gratin. Looks perfect! :)

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  8. Au Gratin potatoes are one of the great comfort foods in this house, and we love your recipe, with the fresh thyme. Great that it's lighter, too because gratin can be a little heavy. Yummy!

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  9. These sound yummy! As much as I love all things cheese, sometimes things like this can be just as delicious without it.

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  10. I love anything with potatoes baked in stock/cream/cheese/butter, you name it it'll be so tasty. Thanks for visiting my blog, I'm now following yours.

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  11. This sounds like it would make a great side dish as an alternative for mashed potatoes for example because the flavours seem to be balanced and aromatic yet won't overpower any main dish. I'm a bit weird when it comes to potatoes but the thyme alone tells me I should give it a go. ;)

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  12. I once went on the cabbage soup diet and on day 6 you get to eat a baked potato. I thought it was the best thing I have ever eaten after days of soup. I can understand where you are coming from when you got to eat potatoes and don't they look grand (much better than that baked potato I had).

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  13. This looks delicious, although I'm a big fan of cheese in my gratins! I would find it hard giving up bread too.

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  14. Wow--I didn't know Waters had a new book. Carbolicious? Definitely!

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  15. I have never liked white potatoes... but with a review like this I am tempted to try this recipe! Alice Waters is a genius!

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  16. Strange though I cannot digest bread but my other half can eat bread every day. Of course when it comes to potatoes, both of us will drool, any which its prepared. I like that this version of potato gratin without the cheese and this will be a different type all together from those with cheese most of the time.

    Another one of your recipe which will be a winner in our home. Very nice and simple.

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  17. I actually can live off with potatoes. :-) I love potatoes so much that it can be dangerous if this is in front of me. :-) But I'm also a big fan of bread too... I will never lose weight. This recipe looks perfect for me!

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  18. I love potatoes and these look fantastic. I've got to try them. Love Alice!

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  19. I can't get enough of potato gratin! Doesn't matter how it looks, I can tell it tastes great! Your guests were very lucky. Have a fabulous weekend!

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  20. I am actually a huge potato gratin fan. When I lived alone, I made versions of this for dinner. (And was skinny - how did that happen?) This does look scrumptious. And now I am torn between this and a simple piece of toast!

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  21. I am a big fan of both potatoes and gratin but I've never tried it without the cheese. It does look delicious, though, and who am I to argue with Alice Waters! I hope you had a great holiday. By the way, aren't you supposed to clear the house of bread so that hubby can't torture you? :)

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  22. The gratin looks so delicious even without the cheese! I am going to try it too! Do you think I can replace heavy cream with unsweetened condensed milk?

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  23. Angie, I do think you could substitute condensend milk for the heavy cream--would be healthier and it milk also thicken more easily.

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  24. You said the magic words... Yukon gold! :D

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  25. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE potatoes. Anything w/ potatoes! Good for you!

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  26. The gratin looks yummy! Unlike my family I am a huge potato fan.

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  27. I don't think I eat enough potatoes! A gratin was always a family dish at holidays when I was growing up, but it's been so long since I've had one! Yours looks delicious :)

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  28. I know Matzo bread just does not cut it LOL This looks really good. You know you can always just do that delicate overlap on the last layer

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  29. I love potatoes au gratin, but they can be so heavy with the cream and cheese. Cutting the cheese out certainly helps. And the flavor must be great with the thyme and bay leaves!

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  30. I love potato gratins with or without cheese! This one contains very aromatic herbs and I am sure they make all the difference!

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  31. I adore the humble potato. It's so versatile. I like that this recipe uses Yukon Gold. They have such a nice texture. Have a good week to come.

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  32. I am looking for a great potato dish to take to a friend...and this is a top contender! YUM!

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  33. This would make for a fabulous side. I'm always on the look out of new potato recipes and this one looks like a keeper.

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  34. I make a gratin that is very similar to this, but I love, love, love to add cubes of ham to it. It brings a level of salt to the dish that is amazing.

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  35. I love potatoes cooked about any way possible and these scalloped potatoes look delicious! The only problem is that bread and potato become a part of me physical so quickly and then take forever to leave. :) So when I do have them, I try to make them special and this dish is special for sure.

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