Dauphinoise Potatoes
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (1 cup)
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle position. Spread butter across the bottom and sides of a 2-quart baking dish.
Peel potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick. Place slices in a large bowl of cold water and drain thoroughly.
Bring heavy cream, milk, and garlic to a simmer in a large, wide saucepan.
Add potatoes, salt, and pepper, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 20 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the potatoes to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese.
Add remaining potatoes to the baking dish and pour enough cream mixture over potatoes to just cover. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, place on a rimmed baking sheet
Bake until bubbly and golden brown on top, 40 to 45 minutes.
Grate nutmeg over top just before serving.
Notes:
How to Store Dauphinoise Potatoes:
Storing: Place the leftover dauphinoise potatoes in an airtight container, or wrap the dish tightly in plastic or aluminum foil to create a lid. Keep potatoes dauphinoise in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Freezing: After you have baked the dauphinoise potatoes, let the dish cool completely. To freeze it, wrap the dish in plastic or an airtight container and freeze it for up to two months.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why are my dauphinoise potatoes soupy?
Your dauphinoise potatoes may be soupy because you served them too quickly. Like a roast, dauphinoise potatoes need time to set up after they finish cooking. They are also very hot coming out of the oven, so allowing 10 to 15 minutes for the dish to rest will make it a suitable temperature for eating and means you can serve creamy—not soupy—portions for everyone.
Why did the cream curdle in my dauphinoise potatoes?
The curdled cream in your dauphinoise is probably caused by the high heat of the oven. When exposed to high temperatures, the proteins in dairy can denature (or unravel), then clump together. The best way to prevent the sauce from separating is to use full-fat rather than low-fat dairy.
Do you need to precook the potatoes for dauphinoise?
Yes, you need to precook the potatoes for dauphinoise before they are baked. Many recipes call for boiling the potatoes in water. We find that cooking them in the same cream and milk mixture that they are baked in for the final dish yields a richer flavor and avoids issues of the dish being watery.
Can you leave the cheese out of these potatoes?
While you can leave the cheese out of these potatoes, they will be less rich and the sauce less thick. For a holiday-worthy dish that omits the cheese, consider these simple scalloped potatoes. The ingredients—potatoes, milk, cream, and garlic—are largely the same, but the recipe does not call for simmering the potatoes ahead of time; instead, they’re layered with the cream mixture then baked until tender.
The Right Potatoes for Pommes Dauphinoise:
For this recipe, we use Yukon Golds, which are considered an all-purpose potato. Neither too waxy or starchy, they hold their shape incredibly well yet contain enough natural starch to thicken the cream mixture.
How to Slice Them:
The key to an evenly cooked gratin like potatoes dauphinoise is evenly cut potatoes. The easiest—and quickest—way to achieve this is by using a mandoline, but you can slice the potatoes by hand if you don’t have one.
To keep the peeled potatoes steady as you prep them, cut off a thin slice from one of the long sides to create a flat surface; set the potato flat side down on your cutting board and slice crosswise into even, 1/8-inch-thick rounds.
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart.com
