The potato gratin is a simple and tasty side dish, perfect as an appetizer too. You only need three basic ingredients – potatoes, butter, and parmesan – to make it in a few easy steps. Despite its simplicity, this dish impresses with its inviting and elegant appearance, making it suitable for both casual dinners and special occasions. Its flavor is somewhat reminiscent of the potato gateau, but it stands out for its simpler and quicker preparation: the potatoes are sliced, parboiled for a few minutes, and then layered in a baking dish with butter and parmesan, similar to the French gratin dauphinois. However, compared to the latter, potato gratin is lighter and has a more familiar taste, in line with Italian tradition. Versatile and always appreciated, potato gratin is one of the potato side dishes you can pair with meat or egg main courses: with its golden crust and irresistible flavor, it will win everyone over at the first bite!
Also, you might be interested in:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 290.69 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 39.75 (g) of which sugars 1.96 (g)
- Proteins 7.97 (g)
- Fat 11.61 (g) of which saturated 7.50 (g)of which unsaturated 4.07 (g)
- Fibers 4.84 (g)
- Sodium 171.19 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 220 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Potato Gratin
- 2.2 lbs potatoes
- 2.5 tbsps butter (+ a few knobs for the top)
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1/3 cup Parmesan Reggiano DOP (grated)
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Baking Dish 26 cm diameter tart pan
- Parchment Paper
- 1 Brush
How to Prepare Potato Gratin with Butter and Parmesan
To prepare the potato gratin, start by peeling the potatoes. Then cut them into slices with a knife, aiming for slices of the same thickness (about 1/8 inch) (1). If you prefer, to speed up the process, you can use a mandoline, but do not set it to a thickness that is too thin, or they will fall apart when parboiled. Place a large pot with plenty of lightly salted water on the stove, and when it boils, add the potato slices and parboil them for 4-5 minutes (2).
Be careful not to overcook them, or they will break. Drain them and let them cool just enough to handle. Then take a 26 cm diameter tart pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat (or in the microwave) and with a kitchen brush lightly grease the parchment paper (3). Cover the bottom with some potato slices, slightly overlapping them, then brush them with a little butter (4)
Season them with a pinch of salt, a grind of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and some grated parmesan (5). Then cover with another layer of potato slices (6), which you will brush again with a little butter and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and parmesan.
Continue this way, forming additional layers of potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, butter, and parmesan, until the potatoes are used up. Finish with parmesan and a few knobs of butter (7). Bake the potato gratin in a preheated oven at 356°F (static) for about 40 minutes, turning on the grill to the highest power for the last 2 minutes. When the potatoes are golden and gratinated on the surface (8), you can take them out of the oven.
Serve the potato gratin immediately, as an appetizer or a delicious side dish.
Storage
The potato gratin is best when freshly made, but if there are leftovers, you can keep it in the refrigerator until the next day.
Tips and Variations
If you like, you can add aromatic herbs like chopped rosemary and sage to the potatoes.
