FOOD · THANKSGIVING

Potatoes au Gratin

Thinly sliced potatoes, three cheeses, and cream infused with fresh garlic, sage, and nutmeg. This is one of the last dishes out of my oven on Thanksgiving, with a golden cheese top and a thick, luscious sauce underneath. Give it fifteen minutes to rest. It needs them.

SERVINGS

10–12 side servings

COOK TIME

1 hour 45 minutes, plus cream infusion and resting

METHOD

Oven + saucepan

Ingredients

  • 3 lb russet potatoes, peeled and sliced very thinly
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 shallot or ½ onion
  • 5 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 2 sprigs fresh sage
  • 1½ tablespoons Morton kosher salt, plus a little for the potato layers
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
  • 4 oz Gruyère, freshly grated
  • 5 oz sharp white cheddar, freshly grated
  • 4 oz Parmesan, grated
  • 2 tablespoons butter, for greasing the dish

My ingredient notes: Fresh garlic here, no jarlic. Give the peeled cloves a whack with the flat side of your knife.

Grate the Gruyère and cheddar yourself; pre-grated Parmesan from the refrigerated tub works, but the shaker kind doesn’t.

I also recommend freshly grating the nutmeg.

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Peel and slice the potatoes very thinly using a mandoline or a sharp knife. Think potato-chip thin. Mix all three cheeses in a bowl.
  2. Add the cream, milk, shallot or onion, smashed garlic, sage, Morton kosher salt, pepper, and nutmeg to a saucepan. Heat gently on LOW for about 8 minutes, working in four 2-minute intervals. If it gets too hot, remove it from the heat briefly. Do not let it boil.
  3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the cream mixture rest for 15–20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning before assembling.
  4. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Cooking spray also works.
  5. Ladle a little cream mixture into the bottom, leaving the onion, garlic, and sage behind in the saucepan. Add a layer of potatoes, a light sprinkle of salt, some cheese, and more cream mixture. Repeat until all the potatoes and cream mixture are used, reserving enough cheese to finish with a cheese layer.
  6. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a knife or toothpick slides through the potatoes without resistance.
  7. Let the potatoes rest for 15 minutes before serving, giving the sauce time to settle into that thick, luscious consistency.

My serving suggestion: I bring this out in its baking dish, golden cheese top and all. It serves 10–12 alongside the rest of the Thanksgiving spread, where everyone takes a little of everything.

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