Potato Gratin German Kartoffelgratin Recipes

POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Add the cream and milk to a large saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the nutmeg, a big pinch of salt and some pepper. Meanwhile, slice the potatoes on a mandoline to 1/8-inch thick. Place the potatoes in the warm cream mixture and simmer gently until the potatoes are two-thirds of the way cooked and the cream has thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Place a 9-by-12-inch flameproof gratin dish on the stove over low heat. Brush the bottom and the sides with the melted butter. Spread the garlic around the bottom of the dish. Cook just long enough to toast the garlic in the butter, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a layer of the potato mixture. Combine the Gruyere and Parmesan in a bowl, then sprinkle a third of the cheese over the potatoes. Repeat the layering 2 more times, finishing with the remaining cheese. Pick the thyme leaves and sprinkle over the top, mixing with last layer of cheese. Place the gratin dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until bubbly and golden, 45 to 50 minutes (see Cook's Note).

POTATO GRATIN - GERMAN KARTOFFELGRATIN

Steps:

• For this amount of gratin, a 9 inch by 13 inch, buttered pan is a good choice. Peel the potatoes and slice by hand 1/8 inch thick. Do not do this in the food processor, since they slice too thin.
• Line up the potatoes in rows across the back of the pan. Alternate slices from different potatoes in the same row, and make sure each slice has been separated from its sister slice (make sure all slices have broken contact with each other, otherwise they cannot absorb the cream). See image.
• When the pan is getting full, you can push the rows back to a vertical position and fit more potatoes into the pan.
• Fill the pan one half to two thirds with cream, pouring over the potatoes. Salt (I start with one teaspoon) and pepper. You might want to sprinkle a little marjoram on it, fresh or dried, too.
• Bake in a heated oven (375°F) for one hour, then sprinkle the cheese on top and bake until the potatoes are very tender when poked with a fork.
• Notes: The baking time varies with the type of potato, elevation where you live and how hot your oven really is. It has always taken about 90 minutes for me, yet so many cookbooks say 45 minutes, it burns me up.
• This is not a low-fat food, but it does not work very well with milk, so maybe you will make it once or twice a year as a special treat. You may also leave off the cheese, if you want.
• You may cover the casserole with foil in the middle of baking time if it is becoming too brown. Remove it before you add the cheese.

CREAMY POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices, neither especially thin nor especially thick (approximately 1/2-inch) and put them into a large saucepan with the milk, cream, onion, minced garlic and salt. Bring to the boil and cook at a robust simmer or gentle boil (however you like to think of it) until verging on tender, but not dissolving into mush. The pan might be hell to clean afterward, but any excuse for long, lazy soaking rather than brisk pre-or postprandial scrubbing always appeals to me. And, for what it's worth, I find that when pans are really, dauntingly, stuck with cooked-on gunge, it's more effective to soak them in hot water and detergent (i.e., the stuff you put in the washing machine, though I haven't tried, and don't think I would, with tablets) rather than dish liquid.
• Use some of the butter to grease a large roasting pan (15 by 12-inches) and then pour the almost sludgy milk and potato mixture into it. Dot with remaining butter and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until the potato is bubbly and browned on top. Remove, let stand for 10 to 20 minutes and then serve.
• This is not the most labor saving way of cooking potatoes, to be sure, but one of the most seductive. And it reheats well as an accompaniment to cold roast pork, or indeed anything in the days that follow.

GRUYERE POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish with the softened butter.
• Toss the potato slices and chopped onions with salt and pepper, and spread 1/3 of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half of the Gruyere cheese over the potatoes, then add another layer of potatoes. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese followed by the remaining potatoes. Mix together the water and wine, and pour into dish. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven until the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Once tender, remove the foil, and pour the cream evenly over the potatoes. Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes to brown the top and thicken the cream.

GERMAN KARTOFFELGRATIN

Steps:

• 1. Kartoffeln schälen, waschen und in feinste Scheiben von ca. 1 mm Dicke schneiden. Die Kartoffelscheiben auf einem Küchentuch trocknen. 2. Eine flache Gratinform (ca. 18X24 cm) großzügig mit weicher Butter (nicht der im Rezept aufgeführten!) auspinseln und den Backofen auf 120° C vorheizen. 3. Sahne, Milch und Butter in einem kleinen Topf zum Kochen bringen, Knoblauch dazupressen, den Thymianzweig zufügen und mit Salz, einem Hauch Cayenne und der frisch geriebenen Muskatnuss würzen. 4. Die Kartoffelscheiben in die Gratinform schichten, die Sahne-Milch-Mischung darüber verteilen und das Gratin auf mittlerer Schiene während ungefähr 2 Stunden bei 120° C überbacken. Sollte das Gratin zu schnell Farbe annehmen, schützt eine Alufolie vor weiterer Bräunung.

TARAMASALATA

Steps:

• Place potato in saucepan and cover with water.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until cooked through.
• Drain and set aside to cool a bit.
• Process potato, roe, onion and lemon juice thoroughly.
• The more roe that is mashed, the better the dip will taste.
• Gradually add in the oil until thoroughly combined.
• Transfer to a serving bowl.
• Can garnish with kalamata olives if desired.
• Serve with bread.

CHEESY HASSELBACK POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, garlic and thyme to cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with your hands until every slice is coated with cream mixture, making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together to get the cream mixture in between them.
• Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in the casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in the dish, working around the perimeter and into the center until all the potatoes have been added. The potatoes should be very tightly packed. If necessary, slice an additional potato, coat with cream mixture, and add to casserole. Pour the excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over the potatoes until the mixture comes halfway up the sides of the casserole. You may not need all the excess liquid.
• Cover dish tightly with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is pale golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and return to oven. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp on top, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve.