8/8/2019 Recipe From the Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

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8/8/2019 Recipe From the Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

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Potato Gratin

4SERVINGS

I like this best when the potatoes are sliced quite thin (a mandoline makes this easy):that way the potato slices are less likely to curl up and burn on the edges. Yukon Goldand other waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes keep their texture in a gratin; floury potatoeslike russets fall apart.

Rub a 9- by 12-inch gratin dish with:Butter

Peel and slice about 1/16 inch thick:

4 large yellow potatoes(about 11/2 pounds)

Make a layer of potato slices in the gratin dish, overlapping them slightly, like shingles.Sprinkle with:

Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Continue to layer the potato slices, seasoning each layer, until the potatoes are usedup. You should have two or, at the most, three layers. Carefully pour over the potatoes:

1 cup milk

The liquid should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes. Add more ifnecessary. Generously dot the top of the potatoes with:

3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Bake in a 350F oven until browned and bubbling, about 1 hour. Halfway through thebaking, take the gratin dish out of the oven and press the potatoes flat with a metalspatula to keep the top moist. Return to the oven and keep checking. The gratin is donewhen the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

VARIATIONS Peel and smash a garlic clove and rub it all over the inside of the gratin dish before

buttering it.

Use duck fat instead of butter.

Use heavy cream or a mixture of half-and-half and cream. Omit the butter.

Substitute celery root, parsnip, or turnip slices for up to half the potatoes.

Add chopped herbs such as thyme, parsley, chives, or chervil between the layers.

Saut mushrooms, sorrel, spinach, or leeks, and layer them between the potato

slices. Sprinkle grated Gruyre or Parmesan cheese on each layer and sprinkle more on top

for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Excerpted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters Copyright 2007 by Alice Waters Excerpted by permission of Clarkson

8/8/2019 Recipe From the Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

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