APPLE AND POTATO GRATIN
Sometimes it’s the sides that carry the whole show. This slow cooked, French-style gratin may be one of them. The prep is simple—thin slicing the apples and potatoes, carefully, with a mandoline, or a very sharp knife, and heating the cream mixture. Then just waiting for the heat of the oven to do the real work. The cheese topping is cook’s choice—grated cheddar or Gruyere work very well—and the crunch of a hand full of chopped walnuts (toasted, glazed or plain) make the perfect finish.
- 2 lbs potatoes (Yukon Gold work well)—very thinly sliced
- 1 or 2 tart apples, like Granny Smith—very thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups cream OR 1 ¼ cups Half and Half plus 2 tblsp melted butter
- 1 tblsp Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup blue or Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
- A bit of dried thyme or finely chopped rosemary, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup grated cheese, like cheddar or Gruyere
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Heat the cream or Half and Half (with butter), mustard, herbs, salt and pepper, to almost boiling. In a buttered casserole dish, layer 1/3 of the potatoes, apples, blue cheese crumbles, then the heated cream—three times, to make three layers total, each layer containing 1/3rd of each of the ingredients.
Cover with foil and bake in 375’ preheated oven for 1 hour. Uncover, top with cheese then walnuts. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and potatoes are cooked through.
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