Side · The Dauphiné, southeastern France
Gratin dauphinois
Thin potatoes baked slowly in garlicky cream.
About the dish
Gratin dauphinois comes from the Dauphiné, a historic region of southeastern France in the foothills of the Alps. It is a dish of thinly sliced potatoes baked in milk and cream.
The potatoes are peeled and sliced thin and even, often with a mandoline. Most recipes do not rinse the slices, because the starch on their surface thickens the cream as it bakes. The dish is rubbed with a cut clove of garlic and buttered, the slices are layered in it and seasoned with salt, pepper and often a grating of nutmeg, and the cream is poured over until it almost covers them.
It bakes slowly, often for an hour or more, until a knife slides through with no resistance and the top is bronzed and bubbling at the edges. A short rest lets it set enough to cut neatly. The flavor is rich and mild, with gentle sweetness from the potatoes and cream and a background of garlic. Purists keep cheese out of it; with cheese and stock it becomes closer to a gratin savoyard.
Written from general cooking knowledge, as background on a dish from the game’s recipe book. It is not a tested recipe.
The flavors it leans on
Gratin dauphinois in Night Kitchen
In the game, Gratin dauphinois is a side in the recipe book. A plate is named Gratin dauphinois when it holds these cards and is cooked with exactly this technique, with at most one extra ingredient.
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Heavy cream
- Garlic
Technique
- Bake
How those cards taste
Cooked from just these cards for an average ticket, before tonight’s mood and quirks, it would please Theo (2 stars) most.
“Potatoes sliced thin and baked in cream with garlic. No cheese. The argument about cheese has cost friendships.”
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