Alice Waters’s Potato Gratin
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My sister, the doctor, lover of pies and Peeps, is hosting Thanksgiving this year. She has it all under control, sleeping arrangements organized, color-coded cooking timeline mapped out, and the menu finalized, promising her 12 guests a turkey, a spanakopita, cranberry sauce (not this one) and pie.
To help lighten her load, I’ve signed up to bring punch, stuffing, bread, and this potato gratin, a dish my mother has served at nearly every big holiday gathering for as long as I can remember, one that often steals the show no matter what it’s beside, turkey or otherwise.
It comes from Chez Panisse Vegetables, which offers a number of enticing combinations — potato with turnips or celery root or leeks or sweet potato — but we almost always use potatoes exclusively and keep the seasonings simple too: salt, pepper, thyme and just a dash of freshly grated nutmeg. Submerged in a mixture of equal parts heavy cream and chicken stock, topped with a mixture of Gruyère and parmesan cheeses, these potatoes emerge irresistibly crispy on top and creamy underneath.
This gratin couldn’t be easier to throw together, and you can’t mess it up. I promise. Hope all of your Thanksgiving preparations are going well.
My mother swears by red potatoes. I’ve learned not to question.
A mandoline makes quick work of the slicing, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry.
Rub baking dish with butter and garlic:
Layer potatoes overtop:
Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves:
Add another layer of potatoes and season in the same manner:
Submerge the potatoes with equal parts heavy cream and chicken stock…:
.. then top with a combination of grated gruyère and parmesan cheeses:
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour:
Seriously, I could totally skip the turkey.
Alice Waters’s Potato Gratin
- Total Time: 1 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10
Description
Source: Chez Panisse Vegetables
I love the simplicity of the Chez Panisse Vegetables’s recipe, so I’ve written this one out exactly as it appears in the book and have offered some guidance on quantities/timing below:
“Rub an earthenware gratin dish with smashed peeled garlic and butter. Layer overlapping slices of potato cut 1/8-inch thick. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Make another layer of potato slices and season again. Moisten with cream, cream and chicken stock, or milk to the top level of the top layer of potatoes. According to taste, sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese, and distribute thin shavings of butter on top. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour in a preheated oven at 375ºF until nicely browned.
Make it Ahead
You can make this ahead of time two ways:
- You can bake the entire thing ahead of time, let it cool completely, then cover with foil. To reheat: Place it covered in a preheated 350ºF oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until cream-stock mixture is bubbling. Uncover if necessary for 5 to 10 minutes to get the cheese bubbling.
- You can bake the dish halfway or three-fourths way — the top will begin to brown, but there will still be a fair amount of liquid in it. In other words, the liquid will not have completely thickened. Remove it from the oven, let it cool completely; then cover in foil. Reheat uncovered at 350ºF until it is done — the top will be browner and the cream mixture will have thickened sufficiently.
Ingredients
- softened butter
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 3 lbs. red skinned potatoes, peeled (about 2 lbs. 10 oz. peeled)
- kosher salt
- pepper
- 8 to 10 fresh thyme sprigs
- freshly grated nutmeg, optional
- 1.5 cups (or more or less) chicken stock
- 1.5 cups (or more or less) heavy cream
- 1 heaping cup grated Gruyère cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Rub an earthenware gratin dish (or 9×13-inch Pyrex) with smashed peeled garlic and butter.
- Using a mandoline or knife, cut potatoes 1/8-inch thick and layer overlapping slices in the prepared pan. Season generously with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves (no need to chop — just pull and scatter). Lightly grate nutmeg over top. Make another layer of potato slices and season again in the same manner.
- Cover the potatoes with the stock and cream — you may need more to allow the liquid to get to the top level of the top layer of potatoes. Sprinkle the top with the grated cheeses. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour (see notes above if you need to make this ahead of time), checking after 40 minutes or so to make sure the potatoes are not browning too quickly. If they are browning too quickly, cover the pan with foil and continue baking until the potatoes are tender and the top is nicely browned. You can also turn the temperature down to 350ºF if necessary. I find this consistently takes over an hour for the liquid to thicken up and for the top to be evenly browned.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
79 Comments on “Alice Waters’s Potato Gratin”
The liquid did not thicken and the layers slid apart. The flavor was good but there was a huge amount of liquid in the dish. It gradually got a little thicker as it cooled. Would cooking it, resting it, and then warming it before serving solve this problem?
Bummer! I think the key with this one is to just keep cooking it until the liquid reduces. It’s possible that given the dish you are using you need to reduce the liquid from the start. Out of curiosity, what size pan and material pan are you using? I like your cooking, resting and reheating idea, however, which is very practical for the upcoming holidays.
Alex, will you be posting the NY times hasselback gratin pototo recipe? With the paywall they only allow 1 partial view occasionally.
I am going to try to post it soon!
How much salt due you end up using for this dish? I know potatoes typically need a lot of salt.
I don’t measure, Sol, but I am generous when I am salting each layer — potatoes can handle it.
This is a very tasty and simple dish, I have made it many times in the standard 8x11inch pan (3 quart). I typically use only 3/4 cup of each liquid to avoid a soupy bottom and bake for 15ish minutes more. Heavily salt each potatoes layer.
I am planning to make this for 13 adults on Thanksgiving and am wondering if anyone has ever made this in a greater volume (say a deep dish, 5 quart pan)? Kinda hesitating b/c doubling a recipe doesn’t always work out and gratin can be finicky with the amount of liquid to use…wondering if just making 2 “regular” 8×11 sized pans would be wiser (we want leftovers of course!).
Hi Catherine! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. I have not made this in a deep dish pan, but I have made two pans. I sort of feel like that is the way to go… definitely a little trickier with oven space, but I worry about how this will turn out doubled up in a deep pan. Hopefully others will chime in!
Thanks for the reply! I was planning to make 2 regular pans, but I didn’t buy enough potatoes apparently 🙂 in the deep dish 5 quart pan, i used 5 lb red potatoes, 1 cup broth and 1 cup cream. Added caramelized onions in one layer, very tasty. Baked for 1.5 hours, reduced oven temp to 350 after 45 minutes. Not soupy at the bottom, easily fed 12 adults. I’ll pass on the turkey, I just want these potatoes!
Yay 🙂 🙂 🙂 So nice to read all of this, Catherine! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. The addition of caramelized onions sounds amazing!!
How many days ahead of time can you make this? Can you freeze it before baking it?
Hi Laura, I wouldn’t freeze this before baking it.
In not freezing, how many days ahead of time do you think this could be baked?
I would say 1 day ahead of time.
Delicious!! Loved the flavors!
Great to hear, Carrie! Thanks for writing 🙂
LOVED these! Used small red potatoes and didn’t peel. Definitely bake for an hour. SO DELICIOUS!
Yay! So nice to read this, Sally 🙂 🙂 🙂 Great to hear about the no-peel. Will try that next time. xo
I made this a few times last year and it is always delicious I had a few small zucchini today when I decided to make this, and just added them in, along with some caramelized onions. Delicious! I have never had a recipe of yours that wasn’t delicious and easy to prepare. On a side note, have made three pans of the baked ratatouille this summer as well! So, so good.
So nice to hear this, Elaine! Love this idea, too. This is one of those family recipes I have never strayed from but your experiment is inspiring me: of course so many vegetables would be delicious tossed in here! And yay re ratatouille, too 🙂 🙂 🙂
This came out perfect. I had leftover fondue mix shredded cheese, gruyère and emmenthal and used that. Also sprinkled between layers. Used unpeeled Yukon gold potatoes. It took almost 2 hours to cook though, so if yours still seems liquidy cover it loosely with foil and keep cooking it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Great to hear, Elise! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂