Jeanne’s Potatoes au Gratin
Posted by bellastraniera - 05/01/10 at 04:01 pm It seems like an easy dish: just potatoes and cheese, right? But this cold-weather staple can be boring if you just take the traditional French route. Luckily, my family was treated on Christmas Day to some of the best potatoes au gratin I’ve tasted. My future sister-in-law Jeanne Arnondin combined her mother’s recipe with a Food Network recipe for a dish that’s decadent and infinitely craveable. The key differences are fennel and Pecorino Romano, which brings a sharper umami flavor that a straight French preparation doesn’t have.
Make it with a simple beef tenderloin roast for an elegant but easy winter dinner party.
Recipe: Jeanne’s Potatoes au Gratin
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. butter
2 lbs. russet potatoes (about 4 large russet or about half a 5 lb. bag)
salt
white pepper
2 large garlic cloves
8 oz. grated Gruyere (about 2.5 cups)
1.5 cups grated Pecorino Romano (or other hard Italian cheese)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Remove stalks from fennel, quarter the bulbs, remove core and slice thinly using a mandoline, slicing side of a box grater or knife. Melt butter in a large saute pan and saute fennel and onions over medium-low heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and do not let mixture brown.
Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel the potatoes and thinly slice (about 1/8″ thick) using knife or mandoline. Drop the potatoes into boiling water, cook five minutes, then drain. The potatoes will still be firm at this point.
Mix the potatoes with the fennel-onion mixture in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Be careful not to break or mash the potatoes.
Crush the garlic cloves and wipe the inside of a 9-by-9 inch (or similar) baking dish. Discard the remaining garlic. (As an alternative to the fennel-onion, garlic can be minced or pressed and left in the bottom of the dish or added to the potatoes for a stronger garlic flavor.)
Alternate layers of potatoes and grated chesses, reserving a small amount of cheese to sprinkle over the top.
Pour heavy whipping cream over the potatoes. Be sure to spread evenly around the pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Cover with aluminum foil. (Potatoes can be refrigerated overnight at this point. Proceed with baking directions the following day.)
Bake potatoes for one hour. Remove foil and continue baking for 15 minutes or until brown on top.
Allow potatoes to rest and settle for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 6-8.
I’m not sure what exactly we did right with the roast this Christmas, but for some reason it was the best ever, so I thought I’d record how we did it. Probably because we just used what was on hand in the kitchen, ignored the USDA’s temperature guidelines and cooked the beef to chef and butcher specifications instead. This high-quality cut of meat is like a good steak, so don’t mess with it with elaborate rubs, marinades, sauces, etc. Just let it be.
Recipe: Simple Beef Tenderloin Roast
1 3-lb. best-quality beef tenderloin
3/4 tsp. table salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. dried minced onion flakes
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Sprinkle salt all over the meat. (It will seem like a lot of salt, but remember this is just on the exterior.) Grind black pepper all over the meat. Put the tenderloin in a roasting pan and scatter dried onion around and over top of roast.
Roast the beef until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads exactly 115 degrees, about 40 minutes. Take it out of the oven and loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over top (do not seal). Let the beef rest for at least 10 minutes. The center interior temperature will rise to about 125 degrees, which means the end slices will be medium to medium-rare, the interior rare and pink – and perfectly done.
Serve with potatotes au gratin.
Serves 6-8.
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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
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