Best potatoes for Gratin Dauphinois?

[Daft Doctor]

Hi, I recently fancied making some gratin dauphinois whilst on holiday in France, using a Gordon Ramsey recipe that has always worked well at home. I would usually use Desiree, Charlotte or Maribel spuds, but couldn't see any of those varieties in the local Carrefour. I plucked up courage and asked the advice of a French lady shopping in the veg section, and she pointed me to the cheapest spuds there, a white potato beginning with 'A'.

Anyway, despite following the recipe as usual, including cooking for well over an hour in the oven, the potatoes were still quite hard (if tasty) when it came to serving them later on.

So my query is which spuds commonly available in France (other than those varieties mentioned above) would be best suited to making good soft dauphinois. Many thanks for any guidance.

[Pommier]

Charlotte potatoes are widely available in France. I generally buy them as they're consistently good.

[idun]

I never bother about the potaotes I use, in winter I would have usually used Agata in France, as I would get them from a farmer, who was in the Dauphiné. Any old potatoes are fine, well that is what I have found.

 

I have yet to see a Gordon Ramsay recipe for a proper Gratin Dauphinois, is there one? A proper one, not with cheese or thyme, it's like saying you add such things to a yorkshire pud mix and you don't. There isn't even milk in Gratin Dauphinois. Other recipes are just gratin de pomme de terre from 'where ever', but not the Dauphiné.

 

 

[brianagain]

I remember a recipe posted here several years ago which I copied out at the time. It's still here on the Forum posted by someone called TeamedUp[:D][:D]

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/3/537538/ShowPost.aspx#537538

Brian (again)

...but back then I had a different username

[Gardian]

My Gratin - it works!

I use 'frites' spuds for everything, not because we have frites all the time, but they work for most other things.

Slice them up as usual. Make up your 'cream' in a large saucepan - I use (very roughly) 3 parts creme fraiche + 1 part milk. Whisk it up and bring gently to the boil, then add a dollop of puree'd garlic, some pepper, salt and maybe a dose of nutmeg. Oh, and chopped parsley.

Whack in the sliced spuds and bring back gently to the boil - switch off the heat and leave for a couple of minutes.

Then in to the casserrole dish and in to a pre-heated oven at 150C. Scatter some grated cheese over the top if you want. An hour should do it, but you can 'hold' it by just taking it out for ten mins if needs be.

They were hard because they weren't par-boiled: simple as that.      

[andyh4]

You bad boy you

parsley?

milk?

cheese?

 

Non, Non, Non  [:D]

 

To the OP.  We generally use Charlotte, which for some reason you could not find, or Mona Lisa - but only because these are the main crop potatoes we grow and Corne de Gatte in Dauphinoise seems a bit of a waste.

[Gardian]

[:P]

Take no notice of him everybody - they're all a bit 'countrified' up there in the Ardeche.[;-)]

[andyh4]

Sorry, I did not quite catch that, did you say gentrified?  [:D]

[LEO]

certified?

[5-element]

If you are at a French dinner party, and the atmosphere is a bit flat, you can rely on livening it up by asking: "How do you make a real gratin Dauphinois?" - there are some passionate purists about that, and it hardly ever fails to provoke sometimes heated debates...[:D]

[Clair]

[quote user="5-element"]If you are at a French dinner party, and the atmosphere is a bit flat, you can rely on livening it up by asking: "How do you make a real gratin Dauphinois?" - there are some passionate purists about that, and it hardly ever fails to provoke sometimes heated debates...[:D][/quote]

Too true! [:D]

For a variation, try asking "How do you make a quiche Lorraine?" [Www]

[suein56]

[quote user="5-element"]If you are at a French dinner party you can rely on livening it up by ... ][/quote]

Using the wrong potatoes ... that lead to about an hour's discussion of which potato to use for what. OH and I were astonished as, yes OK, the potatoes we had used were not brilliant but even so ... We had not been in France for very long at that time and discovered v quickly how fervent some people - male and female - can be about cooking and ingredients.

Sue

[idun]

Purist?  I ate in good restaurants when we first moved to France and had this most delicious of dishes. I tried to make it at home and even back then I had numerous recipes, even a french book translated into english and every dish that I prepared was edible, sometimes nice, even lovely, but a good and proper gratin dauphinois they were not, not one of them.

And then I tried 'the' recipe and we looked like we were the cats who got the cream, and we realised that this dish is a treat and not to be made au quotidien.

There is nothing wrong with wanting the 'best' and that is what I got in the end. When french friends and I would have a do, I would be asked to bring my gratin dauphinois. And do you know what, not one soul has asked me what potoates I use, ever. The proof of my gratin was in the eating. And frankly I would be happy enough to go against any of the great chefs and prepare my little authentic dish.

Maybe most people have no idea what this dish should really taste like, which is another possibility and until you have the 'real' thing then you are missing out.Tant pis.

Personally I find that some classics dishes are very simple dishes and I don't mess with them.  If I make a quiche a ma facon, then I'll call it what ever. I would not say it's a quiche lorraine because I put some tomaotes in it, it wouldn't be. Just 'honest' cooking and people should know what they are going to get.

So to the OP. As I said earlier, any old potatoes will do in a proper gratin.

[Daft Doctor]

Hi and thanks to all, wow I didn't think I was going to stir up a bit of a hornets nest but great info as usual. I think parboiling would have helped and I will certainly do that in future. I saw some Charlottes in the local market this morning so why I didn't see any in Carrefour I don't know.

I like a bit of cheese in mine, but I will try a 'traditional' recipe (no idun GR's is not in that category) and see how it compares. My son was devastated when I said it wasn't supposed to have cheese in it, that's the bit he likes best (and believe me getting him to eat any sort of vegetable is a challenge!)

[Daft Doctor]

Hi idun, it sounds like you do a very good (and authentic) gratin dauphinois, so perhaps you'd consider sharing your recipe with the forum so we can try it out for ourselves?

If you'd rather not share your secret with the world, perhaps you'd PM me instead?

[Cendrillon]

I have discovered that supermarkets in France sell some excellent versions of gratin dauphinoise in their frozen food departments.[;-)]

 The packets of 4 or  8 individual ones are a useful standby and the big size is great for entertaining. Just take the packet out of the freezer, open it, decant it into a suitable size dish and whack it in the oven for the cooking time stated on the packet. Not quite the same as a home baked one I'll agree but a pretty good second best and a definite time saver as far as I am concerned.[:)]

[5-element]

[quote user="Daft Doctor"] If you'd rather not share your secret with the world, perhaps you'd PM me instead?[/quote]

No no no, I want to know too![:D]

[5-element]

double post

[idun]

Et 'c'est moi qui l'ai fait!'

Now come on Cendrillon, surely you shouldn't be able to buy such things in France[Www]. I thought everyone knew that everyone makes all their meals  from scratch and go to their local bakers, where everything is made from scratch too. And use their local markets where all the products are superlative[6]

[Cendrillon]

[quote user="idun"]

Et 'c'est moi qui l'ai fait!'

Now come on Cendrillon, surely you shouldn't be able to buy such things in France[Www]. I thought everyone knew that everyone makes all their meals  from scratch and go to their local bakers, where everything is made from scratch too. And use their local markets where all the products are superlative[6]

[/quote]

Et 'c'est moi qui l'ai fait!'

Exactement!

I have learnt from my French friends [Www]and am very good at cheating when necessary !!![:)] A nice French tarte (from the boulangerie) is another useful item on the dinner party menu.

Actually I do cook excellent meals[:$] and have a good reputation amongst our Fr. friends but sometimes when one is short of time or the weather is too hot for spending time slaving over a hot stove I take the easy option.

[5-element]

The one thing I have begun to cheat with recently, is moelleux au chocolat, and also brownies, from http://www.oetker.fr/gateaux-a-preparer__mon-moelleux-gourmand-chocolat.html

I never thought I'd see the day! And never thought that some ready-made product would be better than what I make from scratch... You have to add eggs, and/or butter or cream. But apart from that, it turns so delicious, and nobody can tell that I haven't made it myself. Most mixes are usually too sweet, but not Dr. Oetker's Moelleux au chocolat, or his brownies. I really recommend it for when guests arrivent à l'improviste, and you want to hit them with a gorgeous pudding.

[idun]

A good friend of mine uses the pre prepared frangipan mix, says it is good, but never offered me anything with it in.

I cheat now, I buy lemon curd, after having to make it for 27 years it feels like cheating, no idea why, as I have never ever made jam and always buy that.

I remember the first time I was offered some moelleux au chocolat, I thought it wasn't cooked and was dreading eating it, ofcourse, it was scrumptious.

[Clair]

[quote user="5-element"]

The one thing I have begun to cheat with recently, is moelleux au chocolat, and also brownies, from http://www.oetker.fr/gateaux-a-preparer__mon-moelleux-gourmand-chocolat.html

I never thought I'd see the day! And never thought that some ready-made product would be better than what I make from scratch... You have to add eggs, and/or butter or cream. But apart from that, it turns so delicious, and nobody can tell that I haven't made it myself. Most mixes are usually too sweet, but not Dr. Oetker's Moelleux au chocolat, or his brownies. I really recommend it for when guests arrivent à l'improviste, and you want to hit them with a gorgeous pudding.

[/quote]

Thanks for the tip. I've put those on the shopping list!.

I cheat with custard. I use Alsa Crème Anglaise.

It tastes delicious and much better than any custard I could make myself, if I could be bothered to separate eggs and watch milk getting scolded... [Www]

On the other hand, I don't buy jam. My neighbour makes some, I make some, we swap jars... The thing with jam is that even if it doesn't set, it is still edible, unlike curdled custard!

[5-element]

And because I trust you Clair, I'll put Alsa crème anglaise on my shopping list.[:D]

[Clair]

[quote user="5-element"]And because I trust you Clair, I'll put Alsa crème anglaise on my shopping list.[:D][/quote]

A word in your ear: this is a crème anglaise, not a custard. It pours like single cream.

If you prefer a custard-like thickness, either use less than the recommended 500ml of milk, or add a tsp of corn-starch/Maïzena to the dry mix.

Still very nice either way [:)]