Gratins: more hot potatoes, more comfort

Gratins are creamy, cheesy presentations slow baked into comfort food. Many of the more traditional ones feature potatoes. These likely originated in the Swiss Alps or French Jura mountains as soul warming comfort after a day in the snow --as well as kitchen warming comfort as they baked. You could think of them in today's terms as the original sheet pan, one pot to clean, meal. Hearty is the best way to describe them.  They are siblings of all those recipes "au gratin."  The origin of those French words is to bake a dish to get a golden brown topping. Breadcrumbs and cheese do that.  In these recipes, I have eliminated the breadcrumbs so those terrified of gluten can indulge. (I 'm not including many photos because all gratins can look alike from the top.)   
Gratin Savoyard 

Savoyard means from or of the Savoy, not the famous hotel but the Alpine region of France where the idea of cheesy gratin probably started.  It's the basic recipe to which much as been added: ham, bacon, rutabaga, winter squash... .  So don't feel you have to be rigorously orthodox. Make changes. You won't be the first.  Just remember: gratins rely on dairy products. 
serves 4

 4 lg baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin disks
2 med yellow onions, sliced into thin disks
 1/2 tsp dried rosemary   
 Freshly ground black pepper                  
2 cups whole milk or light cream (for a richer taste)
3 tbsp all purpose flour 
 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt to your taste    
 4 oz  Gruyere cheese, shredded
Garnish: fresh flat leaf parsley or dill, finely chopped  

Optional: 2 c baked smoked ham, diced

Heat oven to 350º. 
Warm the milk over med/low heat but do not scald or boil it.

In a small skillet or frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Gradually whisk in the flour and continue whisking to clear any lumps . Lower heat and while whisking vigorously gradually add the hot milk in a steady stream. This should produce the basic white sauce  that slowly thickens. Remove from heat. Season with nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper. 
    Lightly butter a 9" x 13" baking dish. Put a layer of potato slices over the bottom, covering as much of it as possible without overlapping the potatoes. Put a layer of onion on top and if you are using ham, sprinkle half of it over the onion.  Repeat the layers one more time to use up all ingredients. Pour the white sauce over the layers  and lightly shake the pan to distribute it evenly.  Season with some freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle the cheese evenly around the top. 
   Bake at 350º  50-60 minutes until the gratin is bubbling and the potatoes are tender.  Cool 5 minutes. Then garnish and serve.                              
Potato Rutabaga Gratin        
The yellow tart rutabaga, aka Swedish turnip or Swede, adds mesmerizing taste and a hint of color to the basic gratin. This dish would be a fine accompaniment to Thanksgiving's roast turkey instead of, say, the usual mashed potatoes and mashed rutabaga sometimes served as turnip. It's also a good partner for pork chops. if you're vegetarian, try it with some fried polenta squares. I included this recipe in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking.   

Serves 6-8

1 tbsp olive oil (you can use butter if you prefer)

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 cups heavy cream (you can substitute one cup of evaporated milk for one cup of cream but the final dish will be soupy)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp dried rosemary leaves

1 star anise, crushed (if you don’t have star anise, substitute ½ tsp dried tarragon or 1/8 tsp ground cloves)

1 ¼ lb baking potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin disks

1 large rutabaga (1lb), peeled and sliced into thin disks

1 large leek, sliced into thin disks and washed

½ lb. Gruyere cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375º and get out a baking pan approximately 11” x 7”. 

Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan.  Add the garlic and onion and sauté over medium heat about 3 minutes, until the onion starts to soften.  Remove from heat and add the salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Stir in the cream.

Spread the leeks evenly around the bottom of the baking dish. Don’t worry if there are gaps, just be sure they are uniform.  Cover the leeks with a layer of potatoes (half the potatoes). Sprinkle the rosemary over the potatoes, then sprinkle ½ cup of cheese.

Add a layer of rutabaga, using half of what you have. Sprinkle the crushed star anise around this layer and then ½ cup cheese too. Repeat a layer of potatoes and cheese, then a layer of rutabaga.

Pour the creamy onion mixture over everything as evenly as you can and bake for 30 minutes in convection or 35 minutes in a regular oven.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and continue to bake another 12-15 minutes, or until the rutabaga is tender and the cream seems to be solid. (It won’t be if you used evaporated milk.) 

Remove from the oven and let it cool at least 5 minutes before serving.  You can now  sparingly add freshly chopped flat leaf parsley for color if you wish.

Winter Squash Gratin
This party/potluck size recipe downplays potatoes and mashes the squash instead of layering slices.       

serves 8–10
 

1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1½" chunks
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1½" chunks
Salt
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thickly sliced

3 tbsp unsalted butter

½ tsp dried rosemary leaves

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 sm red onion, sliced into thin rings
Freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp ground cardamom
1 c whole milk
2 c grated Gruyère

½ tsp paprika
 

Preheat oven to 400°. Put the cut squashes into a large pot, cover with salted water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until squash are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well, pressing out any excess water.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp butter in a med skillet over med heat. Add potatoes and sauté over low heat 5 min to soften. Lightly salt.  Remove from the skillet and arrange on the bottom of a medium, deep baking dish. Sprinkle with rosemary. Melt the other tbsp. butter in the skillet over med/low heat.  Add the onion slices and sauté 3-5 min until they’re soft. Put them on top of the potatoes along with any butter left in the skillet.
 

Put squash in a large bowl and mash coarsely with a potato masher. Add the garlic, cardamom, salt and pepper to taste and blend. Arrange the mashed squash evenly on top of the potatoes and onions. Pour milk evenly over top and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Sprinkle the paprika on top.

Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

     
Gratin of Potato and Winter Greens

not my photo

This recipe also downplays potatoes, just using them to form a bottom layer that makes this easier to serve. 
  serves 6-8
                  
1 lg baking potato, peeled   
1  tbsp butter, melted       

Enough extra-virgin olive or butter to generously cover the bottom of a large pan
3 medium onions, halved and sliced thin

1 bunch of kale

1 bunch of chard

1 bunch of collards*

4 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced

pinch red chili pepper flakes
Sea salt
1 pint heavy cream
4 ounces grated cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Gruyère
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

*if you can’t find collards use two bunches of kale or different chards

Slice the potato into thin disks and brush them on both sides with butter.  Line the bottom of a casserole dish or medium baking pan with them and season with salt.
Place a large heavy-bottom pot over low-medium heat, add the onions, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft, 5-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep the greens. Remove the stems that run down the center by holding the leaf in one left hand and slicing down each side of the stem with a knife. By the time you're done, you'll have two piles: one of stems and one of leaves. Bunch the stems in a pile and slice them finely, crosswise. Set aside. Chop the greens and set them aside.
Heat the oven to 350º.
Add the chopped garlic to the softened onions in the pot and stir for a minute or so, until the garlic has released its fragrance. Add the chopped stems, chili pepper flakes and a pinch of salt, stir to mix them with the onions and garlic, and cover the pot. Let them cook about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the greens and another pinch of salt, using tongs to carefully mix in with the sautéed veggies in the pan. Add ½ c water (or stock) to the pan, and turn heat to high until the water begins to boil. When it does, turn heat down to low, and let the greens simmer, covered, stirring occasionally until they're nearly tender but still a little al dente. Uncover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid in the pan has evaporated.  Turn off the heat, taste, and add a little salt if necessary. 
  Arrange the cooked greens evenly over the potatoes . Pour the cream over. Sprinkle the cheese all over the top.  Season heavily with black pepper. Sprinkle the nutmeg evenly around the top.       Bake until that top is browned (30-45 minutes). Serve hot.  
 This dish can be made a day or two in advance and reheated in a 350º just before serving


Potato and Celeriac Gratin
This is a French down from the mountains variation on the theme, notable not so much for the celeriac which adds a sweet flavor, but the tomatoes which bring vivid color.  There are several steps but each one is very easy.
serves 8

 4 baking potatoes     
  Salt to your taste
 1 3/4 lb celeriac bulb (aka celery root)
 2 tbsp, lemon juice, freshly squeezed 
 1 tbsp olive oil 
 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 ripe tomatoes (1 lb) , peeled and cut into small cubes
Freshly ground black pepper 
 1 tsp dried thyme leaves  
 1/2 tsp celery seed
  3/4 c heavy cream    
1/ 8 tsp ground nutmeg      
  1 tbsp butter to grease the dish   
1/4 lb Gruyere cheese, grated

 Clean the potatoes and put them in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them. Add some salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and once they are cool enough to touch, peel and cut them into 1/2" thick slices.
  
Pare or peel the skin off the celery root, wash and dry it. Cut it into 1/4" thick slices. Put these in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and a fat pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes.  Drain but reserve 1/2 c of the cooking water.  

Heat oven to 375º.  
In a medium skillet, warm the olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme and celery seed. Stir to blend and cook 1 minute, stirring.    Add the cream, reserved celeriac cooking water   , nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer  2 minutes. 
   With the 1 tbsp butter, grease an oval  8 x 10" gratin dish. Cover the bottom with the potatoes. Sprinkle half the grated cheese on top. Now make a layer of the celeriac slices. Pour the tomato mixture over everything, then sprinkle the remaining grated cheese all over the top. 
  Place on the bottom rack of the hot oven and bake 40 minutes until everything is browned and bubbly.