This recipe for Scalloped Potatoes Gratin is so easy, totally delicious and comes out perfect every time now that I know the secret technique.
About Scalloped Potatoes Gratin
Potato farming has been around for a long time. According to Potato Goodness these tubers were farmed back to 8000 BC in Peru.
Ever since then people have found creative ways to cook them. Not sure exactly when Scalloped actually potatoes evolved, but you can bet your Great grandmother had a recipe for them.
I really love creamy, soul satisfying Scalloped Potatoes Gratin, but I’ve never been able to master this dish until now. They either came out too hard or too watery no matter what I did.
Thanks to Tyler Florence this has now changed. It wasn’t the ingredients that I had a problem with, it was the technique.
You know the old saying: Keep doing what you’re doing and you keep getting what you got. And I didn’t like the results I ‘got’. No matter how much I changed the ingredients, the result was the same.
So here comes Tyler Florence who actually showed me a different way of putting the ingredients together and voila, success. That’s when I had to stop and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
And so it almost always comes down to technique. The secret is coating the potatoes with flour and cheese before you add the cream.
Such a simple thing and yet it makes all the difference.
Ingredients for Scalloped Potatoes Gratin
- Potatoes: The star of the show
- Butter: For rich flavor
- Heavy cream: For viscosity and richness
- Milk: To add creaminess without the extra calories
- Bay leaves: They add a minty peppery flavor
- Thyme: An extra light flavorful taste of mint
- Garlic: For a pungent richness
- Nutmeg: To spice things up a bit
- Sea salt: Use Himalayan Pink Sea Salt for extra saltiness with half the amount of regular salt
- Pepper: Just a touch to add extra spice
- Smoked Paprika: For smokiness
- Flour: To thicken the cream
- Grated Parmesan: Freshly grated for nutty rich cheesy flavor
How to make Scalloped Potatoes Gratin
This dish comes together pretty easily. It only takes about 15 minutes.
First cut the peeled potatoes in thin slices about 1/8” thick.
You can use your food processor or Madeline for this to ensure perfect evenness, but I just did this by hand. Less cleanup that way. Then add them to a buttered baking dish.
Next, sprinkle the salt, pepper, smoked paprika and flour over the top and lightly mix it in. (I usually use Wondra flour because of its fine texture. It doesn’t clump.
Wondra is also handy to keep on hand when you’re making gravies or sauces. It always mixes in smoothly.
Next , freshly grated Parmesan is then added to the flour mixture.
Once again, just lightly mix it in. Be sure and level the potatoes out to ensure an even baking time. Set it aside as you prepare the cream mixture.
Add cream and milk to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, bay leaves, thyme and nutmeg and warm the cream mixture until it just begins to foam.
Then remove the bay leaves and pour the cream mixture over the potatoes and add freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 40-45 until top is browned and potatoes are tender.
Then enjoy. This is truly comfort food at its best!
Scalloped Potatoes Gratin
Ingredients
- 1 Tsp Butter
- 2 Large Potatoes
- 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt Himalayan Pink sea salt preferred
- 1/4 Tsp Pepper
- 1/4 Tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/4 Tsp Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Flour Wondra preferred
- 3/4 Cup Parmesan cheese Freshly grated
- 3/4 Cup Heavy cream
- 3/4 Cup Milk
- 3 Bay leaves
- 1/2 Tsp Thyme leaves Dried
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg Freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Butter baking dish.
- Peel and cut potatoes into 1/8" slices. Add potatoes to baking dish.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and flour. Mix lightly to incorporate flour and spices. Then add 1/2 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese. Mix again lightly and level out the potatoes to ensure an even baking time.
- Add cream and milk to a saucepan and bring heat up to medium. Add bay leaves, thyme, garlic and nutmeg. Warm the cream just until bubbles appear.
- Remove bay leaves and pour cream over the potatoes and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese over the potatoes.
- Bake 40-45 minutes until top is browned and potatoes are tender.
Nutrition
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I love potato dishes like these. Looks so delicious.
Thanks Jacqui! There’s nothing like comfort food!
No flour should be. Viscosity comes from potatoes themselves. No herbs just nutmeg.
Thanks for the input, Stelios. You’re right, you know, however I’ve always disliked scalloped potatoes that were too liquid. So I add a little flour to make the sauce creamier.