I might be going out on a limb here but this is really the best Potato Gratin I’ve ever had. I made this for Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago. It’s worth making for the aroma alone, the kitchen will smell like heaven. But you won’t be just sniffing this stuff, you will be devouring it. I found the recipe on NYTimes Cooking right before the holidays. I can’t link to it now because they’ve put up a paywall for their Cooking site. I’m kinda bummed because I have a New York Times subscription, but it doesn’t include the Cooking section, it’s only $5 a month but I feel like I’m being squeezed financially from all corners of the earth. I had copied the recipe and put it in my notes app, so it’s there and here, not to be forgotten or paywalled.

The first time I made this I used a mandolin to slice the potatoes, it was very time consuming but I had thinner slices than I got from the food processor, both of which should have produced 3mm (1/8”) slices. So I’m not sure why there was such a difference in thickness. I liked the thinner slices better, so next time, and believe me there will be a next time, I’ll use a thinner setting on the food processor. I’ve been using the food processor more these days and I’m kinda falling in love with it. We didn’t have one for so long, like forever, so it’s been a real treat to use it. One of the reasons I hadn’t used it much was evaluating whether it was worth dragging out onto my limited counter space and then cleaning up all the parts (I hate cleaning the kitchen so I obsessively think about these things), for this recipe it’s so worth it, because I also used it to grate the cheese, which takes all of 1 or 2 seconds in the processor.

If all the potatoes and cream mixture don’t fit in your casserole dish, you can make a one or two mini ones as I did, see below.

Well now I can open the recipe page if I click from Facebook. You might be able to access the page, or not, anyways it’s here! Enjoy :)

Potato Gratin

3 ounces finely grated Gruyère or comté cheese
2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cups heavy cream
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 to 4 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 6-8 potatoes), peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick on a mandolin slicer or food processor <——much easier
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, garlic and thyme to cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with your hands until every slice is coated with cream mixture, making sure to separate any slices that are sticking together to get the cream mixture in between them.

Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in the casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in the dish, working around the perimeter and into the center until all the potatoes have been added. The potatoes should be very tightly packed. If necessary, slice an additional potato, coat with cream mixture, and add to casserole. Pour the excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over the potatoes until the mixture comes halfway up the sides of the casserole. You may not need all the excess liquid.

Cover dish tightly with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is pale golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and return to oven. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp on top, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve.

Adapted from NYTimes Cooking