{"id":5173,"date":"2022-09-19T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-19T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesaltedpotato.com\/?p=5173"},"modified":"2022-09-21T10:57:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T14:57:56","slug":"potatoes-au-gratin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesaltedpotato.com\/potatoes-au-gratin\/","title":{"rendered":"Potatoes Au Gratin"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Luxuriously Creamy Potatoes with Comt\u00e9 Cheese.<\/h2>\n

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Whenever I\u2019m lucky enough to grab a big wedge of Comt\u00e9 cheese I start thinking about ways to use it, besides eating it out of hand. It\u2019s in my top 3 of favorite cheeses and this time I chose to make potatoes au gratin. There are many different ways to do this and I\u2019ve made a lot of them over the years.<\/p>\n

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This time I chose a technique I like that requires little time in the oven. Instead, the potatoes are first cooked in a pot on the stovetop with milk, cream, a whole onion, a little garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. By cooking them until they\u2019re almost tender the starch in the potatoes combines with the liquid and becomes a thick and creamy sauce consistency.<\/p>\n

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I then simply spoon half of the potatoes into my baking dish, cover with a layer of the sauce, half the cheese, and repeat the layers. After only 30 minutes in the oven, they\u2019ve browned nicely and are at the perfect creamy consistency.<\/p>\n

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\"Potatoes<\/figure>\n

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I\u2019ve recently tried dried long pepper for the first time. What an amazingly fragrant spice this is. It has the bite and heat of black pepper, but it\u2019s much more complex. There are also touches of sweet spices in the flavor and aroma. I thought it would be great here because I was already using a little nutmeg and thought the long pepper would blend with it to compliment the Comt\u00e9 perfectly. Of course, Comt\u00e9 isn\u2019t the only cheese that would work well here. Gruy\u00e8re or any similar type cheese would be delicious, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Another nice touch was to drizzle a couple teaspoons of hazelnut oil over the potatoes after they had come out of the oven. The heat from the potatoes opened up the nutty flavor and aroma of the oil. I wish I could adequately describe how wonderful this dish smelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n

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But the proof was in the eating. I consider potatoes this rich and creamy to be extremely luxurious. If it were up to me I would eat a helping of these with a brightly dressed bitter greens salad and call it very well done. Others in my family need some meat to go with it, so a simply grilled pork tenderloin was also served. I don\u2019t make these potatoes often, but when I do it feels festive. They\u2019re worthy of a celebration meal. Truly melt-in-your-mouth scrumptiousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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As an added bonus, these potatoes also reheat beautifully. But if you\u2019re in the mood for something almost sinful, cut the cold potatoes into big squares and fry them up in a nonstick skillet with a little butter until they\u2019re heated through and crisp on the outside, flipping them once. Yeah, they\u2019re ridiculously good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\"Potatoes\t\t\t\t
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Potatoes Au Gratin<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRecipe by Ren\u00e9e Robinson\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tServings

6-8<\/p>servings\n\t\t\t

Potatoes are first cooked on top of the stove and then finished in the oven layered with Comt\u00e9 cheese.<\/p>\n

Keep the screen of your device on<\/p>\n\t\t\t

Ingredients<\/h3>\n \t\t\t

  • 3 pounds 3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1\/4 inch thick<\/p><\/li>

  • 2 cups 2 whole milk<\/p><\/li>

  • 2 cups 2 heavy cream<\/p><\/li>

  • 1 small 1 yellow onion, peeled and left whole<\/p><\/li>

  • 1 large 1 garlic clove, grated<\/p><\/li>

  • 2 teaspoons 2 Morton\u2019s kosher salt<\/p><\/li>

  • 1\/2 teaspoons 1\/2 freshly grated nutmeg<\/p><\/li>

  • 1\/2 teaspoon 1\/2 finely ground long pepper<\/p><\/li>

  • 9 ounces 9 Comt\u00e8 cheese, coarsely grated (Gruy\u00e8re could also be used)<\/p><\/li>

  • 1 tablespoons 1 salted butter<\/p><\/li>

  • 2 teaspoons 2 hazelnut oil, approximately<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t

    Directions<\/h3>\n\t\t\t
    • Preheat the oven to 415\u00b0 with a rack in the center. Combine the potatoes and next 7 ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, reduce the heat to medium low,13 and let simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.<\/li>
    • Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon salted butter. Using a slotted spoon, add half the potatoes to the baking dish, fully covering the bottom. Spoon on a few ladles of the cream sauce, being sure the potatoes have a light layer of cream on top of them. Sprinkle on half the cheese. Add the rest of the potatoes to the dish and cover with all the remaining cream sauce. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until nicely golden colored. Let rest for 15 minutes. Drizzle with the hazelnut oil and serve. Enjoy!<\/li><\/ul>\n\t

      Equipment<\/h3>
      • 13 x 9 inch Baking Dish<\/li><\/ul>\n\t\n