Potatoes Gratin

A casserole of creamy potatoes beneath a layer of bubbly Gruyère cheese is known variously as potatoes gratin, gratin dauphinois, and scalloped potatoes. Over years of trial and error, saveur executive food editor Todd Coleman developed the recipe for this sumptuous, perfectly browned gratin, an excellent match for baked ham or prime rib.

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt, to taste

6 large waxy potatoes (about 2½ lbs.), such as red bliss, peeled and cut crosswise into ¹/₈-inch rounds

2 cups half-and-half Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

Serves 6

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with 1 tbsp. of the butter and set aside. Make a garlic paste by sprinkling the garlic with a little salt and scraping the garlic repeatedly against a work surface with the side of a knife.

2. Combine the garlic paste, potatoes, half-and-half, and remaining butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are just tender and the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes.

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the cheese over the gratin and bake until golden brown and bubbly, 30-40 minutes. Let the gratin cool slightly before serving.

COOKING NOTE Potatoes gratin tastes best when the potatoes retain some firmness. Low-starch, or waxy, varieties such as red bliss, French fingerling, and white rose are best suited to the task. So-called “all-purpose” potatoes like Yukon Golds are also lower in starch and will hold up almost as well as waxy potatoes after cooking. Testing a potato’s starch level is easy: drop the spud into a pot containing 2¾ cups of water and ¼ cup table salt. If the potato sinks, it’s a floury variety (that is, dense with starch); if it floats, it’s a waxy variety.

The Easy Way

Few things are more satisfying than a crusty gratin, straight out of the oven. Years ago, when I learned to make the dish, I took great pains to shingle layer upon layer of the sliced potatoes carefully into the baking dish before covering them with cream and cheese, repeatedly pressing down on the slices so that they would remain submerged in the liquid while they baked. It was laborious and slow and, I discovered, kind of a waste of time. No careful layering or ovenside tending is needed if you add a simple preliminary step: Combine all the ingredients except the cheese in a pot, cook until the mixture thickens (the potatoes cook partially, releasing some of their starch and absorbing some of the cream), and transfer the mixture to a casserole dish before topping it with cheese and baking it. You still get the same delicious result without any of the fuss.

—Todd Coleman