Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
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Pommes de Terre à la Savoyarde
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2242, Pommes de Terre à la Savoyarde, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Pommes de Terre à la Savoyarde trades the milk of its Dauphinoise parent for clear consommé, keeping egg, nutmeg, and Gruyère for a leaner gratin with a savory center and a deeply bronzed crown.
Side Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Holiday
20 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 generous side-dish servings
Pommes de Terre à la Savoyarde (Savoy-style potato gratin) teaches one true thing: when consommé replaces milk, the potato must provide the body. The liquid will look loose when it enters the oven. Don't drain it or thicken it with flour. The unwashed potato starch and beaten egg bind it as it bakes, while Gruyère makes the bronzed crust.
The book sends the cook to Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (No. 2222) and changes one thing, milk becomes consommé. A brigade could rely on a saucier, a stockpot never off the fire, several earthenware service dishes, and a salamander waiting to color the top. At home, use a good clear consommé, one shallow gratin dish, and the broiler only if the oven leaves the crown pale. The original two pounds of potatoes already make four generous side portions, so there is no sense halving an egg and disturbing the ratio. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The written cross-reference and multiple service dishes are brigade scaffolding. They can go. Even slices, unwashed starch, hot consommé, thorough mixing, and a full bake are the dish, and they stay. Before touching a pan, slice the potatoes evenly and do not rinse them. That starch decides whether the center becomes succulent or soupy.
Pommes de Terre à la Savoyarde belongs to Savoie in the French Alps, where potatoes, broth, and firm mountain cheeses naturally meet in substantial table dishes. In the classical canon it is defined through Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (No. 2222), replacing boiled milk with consommé while retaining the egg, nutmeg, and Gruyère of that formula. It is therefore more than Dauphinoise with extra cheese: the changed cooking liquid gives the potatoes a clearer, more savory character and marks the regional distinction.
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Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise base
Quantity
1 full recipe Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (No. 2222)
prepare only to the point before adding its boiled milk; omit the milk entirely and do not bake
clear beef or chicken consommé
Quantity
3 2/3 cups (850 ml / about 850 g)
preferably low-sodium; brought just to a boil
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise baseprepare only to the point before adding its boiled milk; omit the milk entirely and do not bake | 1 full recipe Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (No. 2222) |
| clear beef or chicken consommépreferably low-sodium; brought just to a boil | 3 2/3 cups (850 ml / about 850 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •2-quart shallow earthenware gratin dish, about 10 by 7 inches
- •Mandoline or sharp chef's knife
- •Medium saucepan
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Rimmed baking sheet
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the base
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (No. 2222) exactly to the point before its boiled milk is added, using its full proportions and sequence. Do not add or measure any milk, and do not bake the mixture yet. Keep the potato slices unwashed so their surface starch remains available to bind the consommé.
Cut the potatoes about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick from end to end. Uneven slices leave you choosing between hard centers and collapsing edges. - 2
Heat the consommé
Bring the consommé just to a boil in a saucepan, then take it off the heat for one minute. Taste it before it meets the potatoes. It should be savory but not salty, because the Gruyère in the referenced preparation will season the dish further. If your consommé is aggressively salty, dilute it with enough water to make it pleasant before measuring the required amount.
- 3
Make the substitution
Use the hot consommé volume for volume in place of the boiled milk called for in Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise (No. 2222). Add it gradually while turning the potatoes through the egg, seasonings, and Gruyère so the egg warms evenly rather than catching in threads. Mix thoroughly, exactly as the source directs. The mixture will appear much looser than a cream gratin. It is exactly right.
- 4
Fill the gratin dish
Transfer the mixture to one garlic-rubbed, well-buttered 2-quart shallow gratin dish, arranging the slices into an even layer without packing them tightly. Pour over every drop of seasoned consommé, then finish with the grated Gruyère and pieces of butter specified by the referenced preparation. Set the dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any bubbling at the edge.
- 5
Bake until tender
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a thin knife passes through the center without resistance, the liquid has settled around the potatoes, and the top is deep gold with darker bronze patches. If the crown colors before the potatoes soften, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking. If the potatoes are tender but the top remains pale, place the dish under the broiler for one or two minutes, watching without distraction. That is your honest home salamander.
- 6
Rest and serve
Rest the gratin for 10 to 15 minutes. The consommé may still tremble at the rim when the dish leaves the oven, but the starch and egg will finish setting as it stands. If a true puddle remains after the rest, ça se rattrape: return the dish to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve from the baking dish while the top is crisp and the center remains succulent. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose even, yellow-fleshed all-purpose potatoes such as Yukon Gold. Very waxy salad potatoes surrender too little starch, while dry baking potatoes can collapse before the consommé settles.
- •A good consommé matters because it replaces the dairy rather than hiding beneath it. Homemade is splendid, but a clear, low-sodium prepared consommé is an honest home equivalent to the brigade stockpot. Taste before salting anything.
- •Grate the Gruyère yourself. Pre-grated cheese is often coated to keep it separate, which also keeps it from melting into the supple, mottled crust this gratin deserves.
- •Serve beside roast beef, veal, pork, or a plainly roasted chicken. A dry Apremont or another Jacquère-based Savoie white has enough freshness to meet the cheese without flattening the consommé.
Advance Preparation
- •The consommé may be measured and the Gruyère grated a day ahead. Keep both covered in the refrigerator, but slice the potatoes only when you are ready to assemble so they neither discolor nor surrender their starch to soaking water.
- •The gratin may be baked earlier the same day. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate, then reheat uncovered at 350°F (180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Use the broiler briefly if the crown needs its bronze restored.
- •Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a shallow baking dish rather than a microwave so the cheese top regains its crisp edges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
460 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
70 mg
Sodium
1120 mg
Total Carbohydrates
45 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
19 g
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