Gratin Dauphinois
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Gratin Dauphinois
 The French bake of thin potato slices in cream with garlic. This version has no cheese. Additional Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C). Method Peel and slice very, very thinly: 1 lb (450 g) good-quality potatoes (King Edward or Desirée) A wooden mandolin works well for this. Then plunge the potato slices into a bowl of cold water. Swill them round to remove some of the starch. Dry them very thoroughly in a clean tea cloth. Equipment You will also need an 8½ inch (21 cm) oval, shallow gratin dish, well buttered. In the gratin dish, arrange a layer of potato slices. Add a sprinkling of: 1 small clove garlic, crushed salt and freshly milled black pepper Then add another layer of potatoes and seasoning. Mix together: 5 fl oz (150 ml) double cream 5 fl oz (150 ml) milk Pour it over the potatoes. Sprinkle with a little: freshly grated nutmeg Then add in flecks over the surface: 1 oz (25 g) butter Bake on the highest shelf in the oven for 1½ hours. |
Gratin Dauphinois crumb: thin potatoes baked in cream, no cheese French Provincial Cooking (1960) has “Gratin Dauphinois” on page 211 of the Penguin Cookery Library paperback. Elizabeth David wrote it. She notes that some recipes, Escoffier's among them, add cheese and eggs. She gives the version made only with potatoes and thick fresh cream. Differences: Both recipes slice 1 lb of potatoes very thin. Both rinse the slices in cold water and dry them in a cloth. Both layer the slices in a buttered dish with garlic, salt and pepper. Both dot the top with butter and bake at gas mark 2 for 1½ hours. David lists 310°F and Delia lists 300°F for that setting. David rubs the dish with garlic and pours on ½ pint of thick cream. Delia crushes the garlic between the layers. She pours on 5 fl oz of double cream mixed with 5 fl oz of milk. So the liquid is the same, but half of it is milk. She also adds nutmeg and bakes on the top shelf. David turns the oven up for the last 10 minutes to brown the top. Neither recipe uses cheese. |
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- Gratin Dauphinois
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- French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David (1960)
- Differences
Both recipes slice 1 lb of potatoes very thin. Both rinse the slices in cold water and dry them in a cloth. Both layer the slices in a buttered dish with garlic, salt and pepper. Both dot the top with butter and bake at gas mark 2 for 1½ hours. David lists 310°F and Delia lists 300°F for that setting. David rubs the dish with garlic and pours on ½ pint of thick cream. Delia crushes the garlic between the layers. She pours on 5 fl oz of double cream mixed with 5 fl oz of milk. So the liquid is the same, but half of it is milk. She also adds nutmeg and bakes on the top shelf. David turns the oven up for the last 10 minutes to brown the top. Neither recipe uses cheese.
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- Delia Online · Gratin Dauphinois
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Internet Archive · French Provincial Cooking (Penguin Cookery Library)
web writeups - Date
- Sep 2026
French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David (1960).
This is Elizabeth David's classic guide to French regional home cooking. Michael Joseph first published it in 1960.