Gratin dauphinois is a French dish of sliced potatoes baked in
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
or
cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
, using the
gratin
Gratin () is a culinary technique in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg or butter.Courtine, Robert J. (ed.) (2003) ''The Concise Larousse Gastronomique'' London: Hamlyn The term ma ...
technique, from the
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois.
In the 12th centu ...
region in south-eastern France. There are many variants of the name of the dish, including pommes de terre dauphinoise, potatoes à la dauphinoise and gratin de pommes à la dauphinoise.
[ It is called potatoes au gratin in American English.
]
History
The first mention of the dish is from 12 July 1788. It was served with ortolans at a dinner given by Charles-Henri, Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and Lieutenant-general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
of the Dauphiné, for the municipal officials of the town of Gap, now in the département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
of Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...
.[
]
Preparation
Gratin dauphinois is made with thinly sliced raw potatoes, milk or cream, and sometimes Gruyère cheese, cooked in a buttered dish rubbed with garlic. The potatoes are peeled and sliced to the thickness of a coin, usually with a mandoline
file:Cooking Mandolin with Carrot.jpg, A mandoline used for slicing a carrot
A mandoline (US, ) or mandolin (British, /ˌmandəˈlɪn/, /ˈmandəlɪn/, /ˈmandl̩ɪn/), is a culinary utensil used for slicing and for cutting Julienning, juliennes ...
; they are layered in a shallow earthenware or glass baking dish and cooked in a slow oven; the heat is raised for the last 10 minutes of the cooking time.[
Some purists insist that a gratin dauphinois must not include cheese, which would make it a ''gratin savoyard''.][ Peter Graham, ''Classic Cheese Cookery'', 2008, , ''s.v.'' Gratin 'Dauphinois'"] Nonetheless, recipes given by many chefs including Auguste Escoffier
Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoi ...
, Austin de Croze, Robert Carrier, and Constance Spry
Constance Spry (née Fletcher, previously Marr; 5 December 1886 – 3 January 1960) was a British educator, florist and author in the mid-20th century.
Life
Constance Fletcher was born in Derby in 1886, eldest child and only daughter of Geor ...
call for cheese and eggs.[
It is distinguished from ordinary gratin potatoes by the use of raw rather than boiled potatoes.][ It is a quite different dish from ]pommes dauphine
Pommes dauphine (sometimes referred to as dauphine potatoes)''Larousse Gastronomique'' (2009), p. 355. Hamlyn are crisp potato puffs made by mixing mashed potatoes with savoury choux pastry, forming the mixture into quenelle shapes or balls, an ...
.[
]
See also
* List of casserole dishes
This is a list of notable casserole dishes. A casserole, probably from the archaic French word ''casse'' meaning a small saucepan, is a large, deep dish used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word is also used for the food cooked and s ...
References
External links
*
The website of gratin dauphinois
{{Potato dishes
French cuisine
Potato dishes
Casserole dishes
Milk dishes