With layers of soft potatoes stacked high and full of rich cream, this potato au gratin will leave you speechless for days. Tawama Rai / Daily Nexus
This recipe is ideal for special events, but it also serves as the ultimate comfort meal! Creamy potatoes, velvety cream and melty cheese is never a bad idea — unless you’re on a diet. Even so, as Thanksgiving approaches, this meal is the ideal treat. As an international student, I will be unable to return home for the holidays, and I am aware that many others share this feeling of being away from family during the festive season. That’s why cooking something like potato au gratin is even more meaningful. It’s a way to create a small taste of home, and sharing it with a friend on Thanksgiving is a gesture of appreciation, togetherness and celebration.
This dish is both unique and simple to create, so it’s an excellent choice if you want to wow someone without spending hours in the kitchen. I enjoy making potatoes au gratin since it is both delicious and visually appealing. The layers of soft potatoes stacked high, each shining with rich cream and melted cheese, make for a meal that is as visually appealing as it is delicious. It’s immensely satisfying to see the golden crust emerge on top while baking, knowing that the crispy exterior will give way to a smooth and creamy middle.
The simplicity of potato au gratin is what makes it so appealing. The main ingredients are simple: potatoes, butter, cream and cheese. However, it is the combination of these things that creates something extraordinary. The cream coats each slice of potato, making every bite luscious and smooth, and the cheese adds depth and richness. The end result is a layered, cozy dish with the ideal texture balance — creamy and delicate on the inside, crispy and golden on top.
Potato au gratin
Yield: 5-7 servings
Duration: 2 hours
Ingredients:
- 3 large russet potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced and tossed with some salt and pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2-3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons butter and some to grease the baking dish
- One medium-sized white onion, diced
- 2.5 cups cheddar cheese
- 2 teaspoons rosemary, dried or freshly chopped
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and use your butter to grease your baking dish.
- Add your 3 tablespoons of butter to a sauce pan. Let it melt and add in your flour and mix until it forms into a roux.
- Pour in your cream and keep mixing and avoid lumps. As the cream mixture forms and thickens, add in your garlic powder and rosemary, and make sure that throughout the cooking, the flame is on low. Add salt according to taste.
- Now, take the potatoes and make an even layer on the baking dish, then proceed to spread the layer of the cream mixture you just made.
- Sprinkle the diced onions and then grate a layer of cheddar on top; repeat this process two more times.
- By now, you should have nice, thick layers of the potatoes, cream mixture, onions and cheddar, so cover the baking dish with silver foil and let it bake in the oven for 75 to 90 minutes.
- Remove the silver foil and let this broil for another 5 to 10 minutes until you see the golden layer on top bubbling, crispy and golden.
- Serve!
I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my friends and I did. I encourage you to have fun and add your own twist by adding crispy bacon bits or changing the cheese to something like gruyére or colby. Overall, I recommend serving this meal on the side alongside a meat dish and a nice green salad. You may also do what my friends and I did: plunge in with a spoon and eat it like a comfort meal, as is.
A version of this article appeared on p. 14 of the November 21st, 2024 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
