Potatoes au Gratin

Hi All! We've updated the recipe to include ingredient amounts and to clarify the instructions. I hope it helps!

I layer leeks and onions between the potato layers, use heavy cream and go light on the cheese but heavy on the garlic. It's delicious. I'm making this for Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Typical Mark Bittman recipe - the base is simple and great as is but it is also endlessly customizable. I had whipping cream and no cheese, so I did a 3 parts cream, one part veg broth that I poured over the potatoes and butter. I tossed in some crushed garlic and added salt and pepper. I followed the cooking directions as written. My husband called these potatoes the lobster of vegetables. Thanks Mark! This recipe is a keeper.

So do you cook the entire pan of potatoes and cream, etc. on the stovetop and then move to the oven?

The texture was good but it was bland--I definitely should have added salt--lots of salt--during the cooking process, and I regret not following my initial impulse, which was to layer it with caramelized onions. The technique is useful but it needs more flavor!

The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity and that it’s endlessly riffable. So many other gratin recipes have 10 extra steps, have to be cooked way longer, etc, but these potatoes came out tender, creamy, and delicious. I mixed a good bit of salt, dried thyme, a few cloves of microplaned garlic in with the sliced potatoes before layering them in a cast iron with some diced shallot. Hit the gruyere with the broiler towards the end to brown that top up and came out sooo nice.

Even though I usually add salt to any potato recipe, I made this just with potatoes and heavy cream. The potatoes are almost completely cooked by the time they go into the oven. Cheese added at the end is just gilding the lily. I found that the flavor of the 2 main ingredients was sublime, and the earthiness of the humble spud was exalted to glorious levels by the lovely silky cream. Do not rinse the sliced potatoes. The starch is essential for thickening the cream.

Made this in my cast iron skillet and it was a hit for thanksgiving. I used Parmesan and a black truffle gruyere and added parsley, shallots, and garlic. I used cheese and the diced shallots/garlic in between every layer - absolutely divine. You’ll want to give it lots of time on the stove to reduce (30 minutes) before going in the oven. I also gave extra time after changing oven temp to 300 and finished in the broiler at the very end to get good color on top.

I simply place unpeeled yukon sliced potatoes in a bowl with cream, wipe a casserole with halved garlic then arrange the sliced potatoes in layers, sprinkling each with salt, pepper and perhaps sauteed leeks. Then I pour the cream on, top with cheese and bake at 375 for an hour. For make ahead, I bake for 40 min. and then before serving bake for the additional 20-25 min. Otherwise just bake for about an hour.

To make a real Gratin Dauphinois, I only use potatoes and whole milk, with for the seasoning an add of a little garlic, butter and nutmeg, that's all. The secret of this popular cuisine is its modesty and simplicity, and to do it well, you have to know how to refrain : no cheese, because then this dish becomes really indigestible. Best cuisine is poor, wait dessert to eat rich (Christmas or Easter) !

Creamy, tender potatoes with just the right amount of cheese make this a very easy and elegant side dish. Next time, I'd add salt to taste and a pinch of crushed red pepper. The instruction "until the liquid level drops" isn't really specific enough. I let the liquid drop by about 1/4, but would let it drop much more than that for a more intense flavor.

Is it just me or does the ingredient list just say “potatoes, 2 tbsp butter, grated cheese”?? Perhaps this recipe on the app needs to be updated.

Thanks, in part, to your experience, I simmered the potatoes on the stovetop for a good 30 minutes. Then I popped them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Delish! Don't be dissuaded. Try again.

I added ham and broccoli in the middle. Delicious, but required just a bit less liquid as the dish was less potato heavy. Otherwise, I really like the simple rule of thumb nature to this recipe.

This is a gratin Dauphinois( from the Alpine province of Dauphiné, eastern France), so it would be best cooked with grated Gruyère or Comté cheese. You would not need so much salt, and it would taste much better.