Comfort Food: Gratin Dauphinois (French Scalloped Potatoes)

My friend Val reminded me, after I posted the semi-virtuous broccoli salad with bacon recipe, about the Gratin Dauphinois that I made for her when she last came to visit me. This dish is the ULTIMATE comfort food….creamy, buttery, gruyere-cheesy potatoes with garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. The garlic would be the only ingredient I could wax healthy about, since the combination of all other ingredients reaches artery-clogging on the healthy scale. But, I remind myself that I started blogging to share recipes for both healing and comfort, and there is nothing more satisfying than a lovely, heaping portion of these cream and cheese laden potatoes when you need comfort food.

We will be leaving this week for Megeve, a charming village in the French Alpes, where I discovered this recipe (which I have made and remade for 25 years now!). During the snowy ski season, this and a salad is often our dinner after a chilly day on the slopes. Comforting and delicious, and with Megeve farmers’ crème fraiche and gruyere cheese, it is heavenly to sit down to while the snow falls outside and the fireplace crackles and glows. It’s also delicious in the summer...with your favorite grilled dishes when dining al fresco. Or any other time and place…for that matter!

So, for my wonderful friend Val, a little comfort coming out to you with a whole lotta love…..

Gratin Dauphinois

6–8 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin.

4- 6 cloves garlic, chopped fine

salt, pepper and nutmeg

1 stick butter cut into small bits

1 cup crème fraiche (you can make your own by combining equal parts heavy cream and sour cream in a glass bowl, stir and let sit for 1 hour before chilling)

2-3 cups shredded gruyere cheese (you can use comte, or any other good quality swiss/alpine cheese—but gruyere is my favorite)

2-3 cups milk

Generously butter a 9x12 pyrex or ceramic dish. Add a layer of potatoes, slightly overlapping, to the pan, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheese. Dot the top with butter and a few teaspoons of crème fraiche. Continue layering the potatoes and other ingredients, layer by layer, until the pan is full. Cover the potatoes with milk, and add a layer of shredded gruyere to the top of the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 1 hour or until potatoes are soft when poked through with a knife, increase heat to 425 for the last 15-20 minutes to make a crusty top layer. Serve warm.