Danny’s Wonderful Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Vegetables and Sides | 29 comments
gratin dauphinoise potatoes
Finally Danny announced that he would make his fabulous Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes to accompany the roast beef this evening. These are a more traditional recipe than my Cheesy Dauphinoise Potatoes and are delicious.
Gratin dauphinoise reheat well. In fact, when I worked in a restaurant years ago, they were made in advance and reheated and browned under the grill on demand. Robert (pronounced Rob-bear) was French and longing to toss away his hat and paint (pictures) full time.
He smoked cigars in the kitchen and cooked like a dream. His Dauphinoise were nearly as good as Danny’s. They included a layer of gruyere cheese, which was pretty good. Danny’s Dauphinoise have a softer, gentler taste. Robert’s Dauphinoise made their presence felt.
To make good Dauphinoise potatoes you need a large shallow dish (the oval ones are often referred to as a gratin dish). If you want to save time, invest in a mandolin. One Christmas it was Danny’s turn to choose the “useful present” from my mum. She rang us to verify.
“Is this an Elizabethan guitar or a vegetable slicer?”
Danny was very quiet when he opened his present. Weeks later he was pale and totally silent when I drove him to outpatients. Be careful with the super sharp, state of the art Japanese mandolins
| Danny’s Wonderful Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes Recipe |
- 1 kilo of potatoes (we use Maris Piper)
- 2 medium cloves of garlic, crushed.
- 800 ml of milk and 200 ml single cream. Stirred together in a jug.
- 35g of butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Set the oven for 190c (170c fan).
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice the potatoes thinly (2m), ideally using a mandolin.
- Butter a large gratin dish well.
- Divide the potatoes into four. Put a quarter onto the base of the dish and scatter with one third of the crushed garlic and a good few twists of ground black pepper. Repeat for the next two layers. The top level has no garlic or pepper.
- Pour on the milk and cream mixture and add the butter in 25 tiny nuggets (you need to use your fingers for this).
- Bake for an hour. If they are not golden, turn up the heat and bake them for an extra ten minutes at 210c (190c fan).
Danny’s gratin dauphinoise potatoes do not contain cheese. If you prefer a little cheese in the mix I have another recipe here – https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/recipe-cheesy-…ge-smallholder-176/
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Hi Mildred,
Thanks for that!
I must try your sausage and onions recipe – it sounds wonderful.
Haven’t made Elderberry jelly. What’s it like?
I agree Fi, it doesn’t freeze well.
I make ours the day before we want it (cooked until it is only just ‘done’) then pop it in the fridge overnight. I reheat it for about 40 mins, so it is golden and bubbling!
It goes very well with good sausages (cooked in the oven with lots of onions that end up all caramelly and chewy!), some in season veges and Elderberry Jelly. In fact, this is what we are having for our Christmas Dinner!
Hi Siobhan
I’ve had a chat to Danny about this. He says that it would keep in the fridge for a couple of days and this would be your best option.
As it contains milk he reckons that it wouldn’t freeze very well – rather like fish pie made with milk.
Your other option is to prepare the potatoes and keep that in the fridge in salted cold water (so as not to discolour) and assemble the dish on the day.
Hope that this helps.
Can a potato dish like this be made in advance and frozen?? I would like to have it with Christmas dinner, but won’t have the time on the day!
Hi Valdaglerion
Robert’s gratin had gruyere sprinkled on each layer (just a little) and a small amount on the top.
Thanks for dropping by.
Great recipe. Grated nutmeg does indeed work very well in gratin dauphinoise – I’d never do it without it. I’m curious to know, did Robert’s gratin have a layer of gruyere in the middle or on top?
Hi Chris, Thanks for dropping by. Danny changes his recipes a lot. This one was particularly good. Nutmeg sounds like a great idea.
This is very similar to Delia Smith’s recipe that we cook as often as we can without feeling guilty. However Delia recommends that after slicing the the potatoes with a mandolin they are rinsed in cold water several times to wash out as much starch as possible. Then pat dry with a clean tea-towel.
Also, as well as the knobs of butter on top, I always grate quite a lot of nutmeg over it before exactly an hour at the top of the baking oven of our Aga. Mmmmm. Delicious.
They are an indulgent treat for us too. I agree Freya, dauphinoise go particularly well with lamb.
I love dauphinoise! It’s my favourite way to have spuds but it’s so rich and decadent that I only have it a few times a year. Goes fantastically with lamb or on it’s own!