Holiday Huzzah with Two Gratins
As we slide deeper into autumn and its heartier recipes, gearing up for the thrust of Thanksgiving and the chaos of Christmas, a potato casserole is one of the best things you can confect to bring everything back down to earth.
I grew up on Tater Gap in Madison County, North Carolina, where taters (nobody local ever calls them potatoes) have been cultivated for generations, way up high where the last vestiges of a sled road winds over the crest of the ridge, connecting the Shelton Laurel community with the Spillcorn community.
Old man Jancer Franklin tended his crop there during my early years, hauling up the sacks of seed taters on a wooden sled with a pair of mules, and bringing down the crop later in the summer or early autumn, before the first frost set in. Jancer’s slow mountain drawl always sounded like molasses to me, rich and silky like sorghum, making everything he spoke of sound delicious.
Today my family (three generations at present) carries on the tradition, as both tater planting day and harvest day are an excuse for everyone to drop whatever might be on the agenda and plunge hands into the earth. In between there’s the hilling and weeding, all in anticipation of the multitude of dishes that will emerge as winter unfolds.
The ultimate way to prepare a potato, I’d have to say, is simply to bake it in the coals of a waning fire (wrapped in foil) and then when—after 40 minutes or so—the ashes have been shaken from the thickened skin, slit it open and slather with butter and salt, eating out the snowy-white flesh with a spoon and then adding more butter to the skin and savoring that last of all.
The next most delectable treatment of this tantalizing tuber is to combine it with cheese and cream and garlic, and serve it up as a gratin dauphinois, the French version of scalloped potatoes.
There are many versions of scalloped potatoes, the term having most likely originated either from the treatment of baking in cream, as in scallops in the shell, or from the thin slicing of the potatoes themselves. During my two decades of living in France, these two recipes stand out from all the others. One—Gratin aux Deux Pommes—is for the health-conscious, and the other—Gratin Dauphinois—is for (s)he who says, “Bring it on.”
Gratin aux Deux Pommes
This recipe was inspired by a series of meals served in the châteaux of Burgundy, each one more lush than the last, meant to celebrate the results of “la chasse” (the hunt).
Ingredients:
- 6 or so apples
- 6 or so potatoes
- A large onion
- Bouquet of fresh sage or thyme
- Chicken (or vegetable) broth
- Parmesan
- Salt & pepper
Preparation:
Wash apples and potatoes, peeling only if not organic. Slice both on a mandolin if you have one (if you don’t, go out and get one … you’ll thank me later!) to about a centimeter thickness, along with your onion.
Butter (or oil) your baking dish, preferably glass or ceramic for thickness, and spread the potatoes, the apples, and then the onions in successive layers until you almost reach the top of the dish (a quarter to a half an inch is a good margin). Following each layer of potatoes-apples-onions, grate on some fresh Parmesan and add salt and pepper. Before the last grating, pour broth over the ensemble, about half-way up the edge of the pan. Add your last grating, along with some freshly-ribboned sage (you can layer in the sage with the Parmesan-salt-pepper if you wish)—or thyme—and stick it all in an oven at 400°F until bubbly and tender to the fork, somewhere close to an hour, depending on your oven. Cover half-way through if necessary to keep from overly browning.
Gratin Dauphinois
This recipe came from the family of Denise Gorgues, whose husband Henri organized the first musical tours that brought me to discover a whole new realm of flavors I hadn’t dreamed existed.
Ingredients:
- About a dozen potatoes, depending on size
- A whole head of garlic
- A generous slab of Gruyère cheese
- A pint of heavy cream
- Fresh nutmeg
- Salt & pepper
Preparation:
Butter or oil your baking dish, and squeeze an entire head or garlic through a press (Xyliss makes an amazing press called Susi, as in Yours Truly, which does not necessitate peeling the cloves prior to squishing them through)—or mince the head with a sharp knife—and spread it over the bottom of the dish with a fork.
Grate up the Gruyère and slice your potatoes on a mandolin (I assume you’ve already gotten one?!?)—or slice fine with a sharp knife, watching your fingers in the process—and layer up the potatoes by overlapping them like fish scales on the bottom of the dish, covering each layer with freshly-ground nutmeg, salt and pepper, and freshly-grated Gruyère. When you’re just about a half-inch shy of the top of your dish, pour over the pint of heavy cream, and top with your last layer of cheese and seasoning.
Shove into a 400°F oven, and bake until bubbly and golden (somewhere between one and two hours), reducing the heat or covering as necessary to keep from overly browning before being done. Make sure the gratin does not go dry, or it will stick to the bottom of your dish.
Serve with a rich red wine or a floral chardonnay to complement the butteriness of the melted Gruyère and cream. Both of these recipes are an excellent foil for a piece of autumn game, be it partridge, possum, or venison.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Susi Gott Séguret, CCP, CSW, hails from the depths of Appalachia in Madison County, North Carolina, but honed her culinary skills in France, where she resided for over 20 years, earning a diploma in Gastronomy and Taste from the Cordon Bleu and the Université de Reims. Author of several cookbooks including Appalachian Appetite, and Cooking with Truffles, Susi orchestrates multiple sensory experiences including the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts, the Asheville Truffle Experience, and the Appalachian Culinary Experience. Passionate about elements of taste and style, and how they extend from our palate into our daily lives, Susi strives to blend food, music, words and images into a tapestry for the senses. For more details, visit quintessentialtable.com.