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dauphinoise potatoes
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Dauphinoise Potatoes

Classic French dauphinoise potatoes. Here, thinly sliced potatoes are layered with cream, gruyere, herbs & garlic then slow cooked until tender & luxurious!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 30 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: French
Servings: 8 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • 12" Oval Baking Dish
  • Mandoline
  • Veg Peeler
  • Microplane
  • Cheese Grater
  • A Skewer (For Checking If The Potatoes Are Cooked!)

Ingredients

  • 2 kg Potatoes (See Notes)
  • 600 ml Double Cream
  • 250 ml Whole Milk
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 tsp Fresh Thyme (Finely Chopped)
  • 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary (Finely Chopped)
  • Nutmeg (To Taste)
  • 200 g Gruyere (Grated)
  • A Knob Of Butter (To Grease The Baking Dish)

Instructions

  • Preheat an oven to 140°c/120°c fan (285°f/250°f).
  • Generously grease a large baking dish with butter then set aside.
    I used a 12" x 8" oval baking dish.
  • Add the cream & milk into a large jug then grate in the garlic. Add in the chopped herbs, a generous amount of salt & pepper and grated nutmeg, to taste. Whisk to combine then set to one side.
    I'd recommend using a microplane to grate the garlic. Or crush it into a paste with the side of a chef's knife. Also, don't be shy with the salt & pepper, these potatoes need a lot of seasoning. When you taste the cream, it should be almost overly seasoned.
  • Next, peel the potatoes then use a mandoline to cut into 2-3mm thick slices.
    Don't soak the potatoes in water, as we need to starch to thicken the sauce as it cooks. Oh & watch your fingers on the mandoline!
  • Add ¼ of the potato slices into your greased baking dish, arranging them in a single layer. The slices of potato should overlap each other so that there's no gaps between them.
  • Give the cream another quick whisk, to redistribute the herbs & garlic then pour enough over the potatoes to cover the slices completely.
  • Sprinkle ¼ of the grated cheese over the potato slices then repeat the layering process with the remaining potatoes & cream, to fill your baking dish. Don't sprinkle cheese over the top layer of potatoes though, we'll be doing this at the very end!
    You should end up with 4 layers of potatoes in total. Make sure to set aside ¼ of the grated gruyere for sprinkling on top of the dauphinoise later on.
  • Grate a generous amount of nutmeg over the top of the dauphinoise then cover it with foil, place the dish onto a baking tray then bake for 2½-3 hours, until the potatoes are tender.
    Use a skewer to poke the dauphinoise in a few different places. If the skewer goes in with little resistance, the potatoes are cooked.
  • Next, increase the oven temperature to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f). In the meantime, take the foil off the dauphinoise then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
  • Place the dauphinoise back into the oven then continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes, until the top is crisp & golden.
  • Once cooked, let the dauphinoise sit for 15 minutes then serve!

Notes

1. To Cook In An Aga - Bake the dauphinoise in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners, with a cold plain shelf slid onto the top set of runners until tender. Next, top the potatoes with cheese then move over to the bottom shelf of the roasting oven & continue cooking until the top is golden.
2. Potatoes - Make sure to use a variety of potato with a high starch content. I like to use Maris Pipers but Russets, King Edwards or Yukon Gold potatoes will work as well.
3. Cheese - Gruyere is the traditional choice for dauphinoise but parmesan, cheddar or comté will work as well.
4. Milk & Cream - Make sure to use double/heavy cream & whole milk for this recipe. This is key to getting the creamiest dauphinoise.
5. Herbs - Fresh rosemary & thyme work fantastically for these potatoes. Feel free to use a different herb if you'd prefer. Sage would be nice.
6. Storage - Stored in the fridge, cooked dauphinoise potatoes will keep for up to 3 days.
7. Reheating - The best way to reheat dauphinoise potatoes is to cover them in foil then bake at 175°c/350°f until piping hot. If you're only reheating a few individual portions, they won't take as long to heat up compared to a whole dish full. A rough guideline would be 10-15 minutes in the oven for individual portions & 30-45 minutes for a whole dish.