Geez, haven’t y’all missed my horrible puns? 😉 Ok, so now for realsies, I’m getting back into writing. I said at the beginning that I would keep blogging frequently, but I’ve been beyond horrible at that, because well, c’est la vie ! However, I’ve been eating SO well in France that I promised myself to keep posting, because damn, food is the bestest, there is no other way to say it. French cuisine especially is simply amazing, because it combines rich taste with simplicity. There are many dishes that are spectacularly yummy, yet pretty easy to make. One of these dishes is the internationally-known gratin. I absolutely love making a gratin, because you do a little preparation, then you can just stick it in the oven, go chill, then come back later and enjoy. It is also so hearty and warm, perfect for cool, crisp nights. Finally, the actual eating experience is spectacular as the gratin sinks into your teeth with such a flavorful softness that sends you straight to food heaven… and also to sleep approximately 3 minutes after your final bite.
The famous, tasty gratin !
The most well-known type of gratin is the gratin dauphinois which has a base of potatoes, but the actual symbolizing factor of the gratin is the cheese that is put over the top of the dish to crisp up a bit in the oven. Thus, you can really use any food to make a gratin, so there are tons of variations. That’s another reason I love making a gratin: you can experiment and make it different every time you make it.
After watching many French people do it, then experimenting on my own, I arrived at a decent way to create a masterpiece gratin Antoinois. Here’s the list off the top of my head.
- Pick a deep casserole dish and coat the entire surface with butter. I’m sure y’all already do this, as I do on anything I bake, but it’s great to prevent sticking and add some extra richness.
- Slice potatoes, or whatever vegetables you want (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and eggplant are all good options) and lay them across the bottom of the dish creating the base/first layer.
- Note that if you do not want to wait as long, you can boil the potatoes first to get them softer so you don’t have to wait for them to cook in the oven, though it tastes much better if they cook in the oven with the crème fraîche instead of water.
- Sprinkle chopped bacon, ham, chicken, pork, or any meat over the first layer of vegetables. This is optional, but y’all know whenever there’s an opportunity to use bacon or meat, I’m taking advantage. As the bacon/meat cooks in the oven, its delectable juices seep through the entire dish adding an extra yum factor.
- Another optional step is adding some chopped green onions or leeks at this stage in for a bit more flavor and zing. Like the bacon, as the onions and leeks cook in the oven in the simmering crème fraîche, delectable juices ooze out, and mix into the gratin.
- Chop cheese (I usually go with a softer cheese like a brie, coulommiers, emmental, or reblochon) and sprinkle the pieces over the first layer.
- Sprinkle pepper, nutmeg, basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme over the top of the first layer.
- Repeat steps 2-6 until you are approximately half an inch from the top of the casserole. Generally two or three layers are fine.
- Pour crème fraîche over the top using as much to cover everything in that rich white goodness.
- Stick it in the oven (I heat the oven to around 190°C which I think is around 375°F) and leave it there for approximately one hour.
- Take it out after an hour and sprinkle cheese over the top. I love putting a blue cheese like a roquefort or a fourme as the blanketing top cheese layer. The strong cheese on top allows you to have just a slight taste of it in every bite for that extra oomph for every morsel you eat. Sprinkle pepper, nutmeg, basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme over the top too, as that will burn and crystallize a little for an extra crisp.
- Put it back in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy! 🙂
The first layer of the ever-so-tasty brie, carrot, pork, and potatoes gratin!
Spreading some potato love all around 🙂
Smothering the gratin in that liquid ecstasy that is crème fraîche 🙂
Oh yes, every… last… drop !
Had some extra Emmental lying around so why not add it early? 🙂
After an hour, Sakina doing the honors with the Saint Agur blue cheese 🙂
Oh you know I’ll lick that cheese container clean, Saint Agur is SO ridiculously tasty! 🙂
Et voilà, let’s eat! 🙂
Another gratin !
First layer of an interesting, experimental gratin: chicken, coulommiers, eggplant, and potatoes
Second Layer of hearty goodness! 🙂
Doused in crème fraîche with the final smattering of spices
The Final Product, get your forks and tummies ready! 🙂
So, try out the gratin Antoinois and let me know what you think. If you ain’t filled with glee, you got a meal on me!
Special thanks to Grég who gave me many pointers and Jon “Le vieil aigri”, Sakina “Matata”, Anita “La Bobita”, ET “for three”, “Jus-Jus” tine, and many others for sharing numerous yumtastic gratins with me. 🙂
Chronicle of a Meal Foretold 