Gratin dauphinois is, perhaps, the most satisfying side dish I know how to make. I first saw it in the August/September 2003 issue of Saveur. It caught my eye, as there were only six ingredients and the recipe was quite short. The first time I made it, I was still in college and one of my dorm-mates declared that we should make it daily just to have the smell of nutmeg and cream wafting through the room.Preheat your oven to 275. Arrange 2 pounds of peeled and thinly sliced russet potatoes in slightly overlapping layers in an 8-cup gratin or baking dish. Mix 1.25 cups whole milk and 1.25 cups heavy cream and pour over potatoes to cover. Bake for an hour. Remove pan from the oven and season liberally with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. Bake for another hour to an hour and a half, until the liquid is thick and bubbling and a golden brown crust has formed on top.
Some of the slices of potato will be quite crisp, almost like potato chips. I've since seen other versions of this recipe, including a version from Elizabeth David that includes garlic. I'm not really sure that that's necessary, and Saveur's version is so good that I've never been tempted to try anything else.
[Photo: Nick Vagnoni]
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