For 4 servings
1kg of potatoes (for gratin)
2 garlic cloves
salt, pepper, nutmeg
4-5dl of cream
1 pack of grated cheese (Only use Gruyère or similar and
not Emmental)
1 big gratin form
I only tried this recipe a couple of years ago... Since
my mother always made the best gratin in the world I have always been a bit
scared of trying it. But she gave me the secret recipe which I tried and I
could have just lied into this gratin... it was so incredibly delicious. And
trust me, if you try this recipe, get ready for quite a lot of compliments and
silence at your dining table - you know what I mean! This gratin goes perfect
with any meat. Whether it's a nice steak, some lamb racks, it just completes
every meal. So get ready for it!
Pre-heat the oven at 200C. Please note that this takes
about 1h - 1.5h. So if you don't have too much time, you can blanch the
potatoes prior putting them in the oven.
So the quick version is: Peel the potatoes, cut them in thin (about
2-3mm) slices and cook them in some salted water until al dente. For the "slow" version you just
peal & cut the potatoes as described above but don't cook them. I always do
it that way. It works perfectly fine, even if you don't have too much time.
Then put the cut potatoes into a big bowl (whether cooked
or not), add all ingredients (salt, pepper, nutmeg, cream, 2 pressed garlic
cloves and the grated cheese) and mix it all with your hands until all potato
slices are covered with it all. Then take your gratin form and rub it in with
quite a lot of butter. When done fill in the potatoes into your gratin form and
shove it into the oven. Et voilà! Now you count about 1h-1.5h if you didn't
blanch the potatoes before, and if you did about 30min less. Always check your
oven to check how "tanned" your gratin is. In case the color gets too
intense just turn down the temperature to about 150C. You might also want to
prepare some bouillon in case you see that your potatoes are getting a bit dry.
This can happen depending on the sort of potatoes. Never happened to me (touch
wood...) since the cream & the right potatoes always made it right. Lucky
me!
Ok, that's about all the magic you need to know to make
THE perfect potato gratin. Check for some nice meat recipes along with this
delicious side dish. Bon appétit!
Wine recommendation: Some nice, heavy red wine with a
taste of dark berries. My all-time favorite red wine for meat is the
"Primitivo 60' anni" or the Shiraz from Peter Lehmann.
Music recommendation: Marco di Marco (at Carnegie Hall),
Nat King Cole, Dean Martin