However you slice it, gratin dauphinoise, like the French, or scalloped potatoes, in the Midwest, this luxuriously creamy potato gratin, topped with a golden brown crown of Gruyère and Comté, is comfort food at its best. It would be rude not to add this to your repertoire of sides. It serves up flawlessly with a juicy steak, a bold red wine or deboned chicken. What more could you want?

So many potatoes to unload at this weeks Cosmic Apple Gardens CSA pickup. We already made potato latkes. Let’s move onto a potato gratin.

Seriously, where is that paring knife?

About that thick, ¼-inch-thick potato slices. Unless you want to brush up on your knife skills, using a mandolin is so much easier and faster. You also get perfectly uniform thickness in all your potato slices.

Once it’s time to add the potatoes into the mix you want to cook them just until potato slices break when folded in half with your fingers.

Spoon the potato mixture into buttered cast-iron skillet, patting potato slices down as you go to fill pan completely. Cover the top evenly with Gruyère and Comté and bake in oven until gratin is bubbly and cheeses are browned and crispy, 15–20 minutes.

Who can resist a dish like that? Break out the big red wine.

CSA SHARE #16

Cosmic Salad Mix
Bok Choy
Carrots
Kale
Parsley
Sunflowers
Summer Squash
Peppers
Tomatoes
Cucumbers

RECIPES COOKED WITH THIS WEEKS SHARE

FROM THE FIELD

All good things must come to an end.

CSA workshares are the lifeblood of small farms. Josh is a devoted Cosmic Apple Gardens worker who truly values his weekly haul of veggies, doing his part to feed the community and the immense quality difference compare to the produce trucked into his local stores. Jed is sad to see the season come to an end but knows there is a ton of work ahead putting the garden to bed before the snow arrives.

It was an amazing growing season and we all wish the veggies could continue through the winter. Thank you for watching this season of Just Picked, Cooking Through A CSA! Watch the final episode, #16 of Just Picked, Cooking Through a CSA

Cast-Iron Potato Gratin

Author: Foodterra
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: serves 4 1x

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Description

Scale

Ingredients

Olive oil, as needed
4–5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks, green parts removed, white parts quartered lengthwise, soaked in water to remove dirt, and chopped into thin half moons
½ shallot, finely chopped
3–4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, season as you go
3–4 cups whole milk
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
4–5 large potatoes, we used Purple Vikings, Russets also work well, peeled and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices using a mandolin
2–3 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese, preferably cave aged
1 cup grated Comté cheese, preferably cave aged
1 small bunch chives, finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat a heavy-bottomed enameled pot over medium to medium-high heat. Generously coat pot with oil, followed by 3–4 tablespoons butter. Stir until butter is melted and incorporated into oil (do not let butter brown).
Stir in leeks, shallots, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Gently sauté for 5–6 minutes until softened. Reduce heat to medium and pour in 2 cups milk and heavy cream (if using). Stir in potato slices and season generously with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Potatoes should protrude just above milk; if they don’t, add more milk accordingly. Simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and checking seasoning occasionally, until milk mixture thickens, 15–20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Grease bottom and sides of a medium cast-iron skillet with remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
Check the potato and reduced milk mixture for thickness by moving wooden spoon along bottom of pot to expose the surface; if barely any liquid fills the void, add a little more milk. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, just until potato slices break when folded in half with your fingers, about 10 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook potatoes.)
Turn off heat and spoon potato mixture into prepared cast-iron skillet, patting potato slices down as you go to fill pan completely. Cover the top evenly with Gruyère and Comté and bake in oven until gratin is bubbly and cheeses are browned and crispy, 15–20 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately top with chives so they cook a bit in the hot oil and cheeses. Let cool slightly before serving.

Notes

Make it more decadent: sprinkle grated Parmesan evenly into the buttered pan before filing with the potatoes for an extra layer of goodness.
Make it ahead of time: Do everything the same, just skip the oven portion. Refrigerate until ready.

Category: side dish
Method: bake

Keywords: potato gratin

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