Pommes de Terre Gratinées

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •1½-quart (1.4-litre) broiler-safe gratin dish or sturdy rimmed baking tray
• •Potato ricer, food mill, or fine-mesh sieve
• •Large saucepan
• •Small saucepan for heating milk and melting butter
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the form

   For one family-style gratin, butter a 1½-quart (1.4-litre) gratin dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter and heat the oven to 475°F (245°C), with a rack in the upper third. For filled half-shells, leave the potatoes whole, line a sturdy baking tray with parchment, and heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). The ingredients and finish remain the same; only the vessel changes.

2. 2

   Cook and dry

   For the gratin-dish version, peel the potatoes, cut them into even 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, and cover them with cold water. Salt the water, bring it to a gentle boil, and simmer for 18 to 22 minutes, until a knife enters without resistance. Drain thoroughly, return the potatoes to the dry pan, and shake them over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the surfaces look chalky and no moisture remains on the pan floor. For the half-shell version, prick the whole potatoes and bake them directly on the tray for 50 to 60 minutes, until they yield completely when pressed with a folded towel. Split them lengthwise at once and scoop out the pulp, leaving a ¼-inch (5 mm) wall so the skins hold their shape. Keep the pulp hot. In either method, drying is the dish's foundation: wet potatoes make loose, heavy purée.

3. 3

   Make the purée

   Pass the hot potato through a ricer or food mill into the warm pan. Fold in 4 tablespoons of butter for the gratin-dish version, or 5 tablespoons for the half-shell version, then add the hot milk in three additions. Work gently with a wooden spoon until the purée is smooth, supple, and able to hold a soft mound; season with the measured salt. Never use a blender or food processor, which tears open the starch and turns the potato gluey. If the purée is lumpy, don't beat it harder. Ça se rattrape: pass it through the ricer or a fine sieve once more while it is hot. If it is loose, fold it over low heat for a minute so the excess moisture can escape; if it is stiff, loosen it with another spoonful of hot milk.

4. 4

   Fill the vessel

   Spoon the hot purée into the buttered gratin dish and smooth the surface lightly without packing it down. For the second form, mound the purée generously into the eight half-shells and arrange them snugly on the prepared tray. Make shallow ridges across the surface with a fork or spoon; the raised points catch the heat and give the crust more places to bronze.

5. 5

   Crown the potatoes

   Combine the Gruyère for Gratins (No. 268) with the fine bread raspings, then scatter the mixture evenly over the purée, right to the edges. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and bedew the whole surface with it in a thin, even thread. Dry raspings burn before the cheese melts; butter gives them the crisp, deep-gold finish the source intends.

6. 6

   Form the gratin

   Finish by Gratins (No. 268): raise the oven for the half-shell version to 475°F (245°C), then place either form on the upper rack for 6 to 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the raspings are deeply bronzed. If your oven lacks the fierce top heat of the old service oven, use the broiler for the final 30 to 90 seconds, provided the dish is broiler-safe, and watch without wandering away. If one patch darkens before the rest, rotate the dish and shield that spot with a small piece of foil. If the top colours while the centre is still cool, lower the oven to 400°F (200°C), cover loosely for 5 minutes, then uncover and restore the crust under fierce heat. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Let the gratin stand for only 2 minutes, just long enough for the bubbling butter at the rim to settle. Bring the family dish straight to the table, or arrange the filled half-shells on a warm platter. The crust softens as it waits, so this is not the moment to finish the salad or carve the roast. Everything else should already be ready. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose dry, floury potatoes such as Russets. They are the practical equivalent of the source's fine baking potatoes: their pulp passes cleanly through a ricer, absorbs hot milk and butter without becoming watery, and gives the filled half-shells sturdy skins.
• •Raspings are fine dry breadcrumbs made from stale bread, not coarse panko. Rub dried bread through a grater or pulse it briefly, then sieve out the large pieces. The fine crumb merges with the cheese into one close, crisp crust.
• •The source leaves the cheese unnamed. Gruyère is the honest household choice because it melts evenly while keeping a savoury backbone; Comté may replace it without changing the method.
• •A potato ricer gives the lightest purée, but a food mill or fine sieve works. A processor does not. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, and more machinery is especially unhelpful here.
• •Use the broiler only with a dish marked broiler-safe. If yours is not, keep the gratin at 475°F (245°C) until evenly bronzed and allow a few extra minutes.
• •Serve beside roast chicken, pork, or a simple pan-cooked chop. The potatoes already bring butter, cheese, and generosity, so the main dish needs a good jus more than another sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •The cheese and bread raspings can be measured, mixed, covered, and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead. Melt the finishing butter only when the potatoes are ready.
• •For the best texture, make and gratinate the purée in one continuous sequence. If timing demands it, prepare the purée up to 1 day ahead, cool it promptly in a shallow covered container, and refrigerate it. Reheat gently with a spoonful of milk until thoroughly hot before filling the dish and forming the gratin.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat at 375°F (190°C) until hot through, then restore the surface briefly under fierce top heat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)