Proper potato gratin. Potato gratin: classic recipe

Potato gratin is an exquisite dish of French national cuisine. It is prepared with the addition of cheese, cream, garlic and spices. Some recipes call for additional ingredients, such as meat, bacon or mushrooms. Today's article discusses several options for preparing gratin.

General information

Gratin is a versatile dish that can be served with or without a side dish. It was once considered the food of the French poor, who had to invent new ways to prepare the simplest foods. It is made on the basis of potatoes, poured with creamy milk sauce and sprinkled with grated cheese.

In addition, garlic and spicy spices must be added to such casseroles. And to make them more filling, they additionally contain mushrooms, fish, bacon, meat and minced meat. To make the gratin juicy and tender, it is prepared in a closed container. Fifteen minutes before the end of the heat treatment, remove the lid from the container so that a golden crust can form on its contents.

Traditional option

The recipe described below assumes the use of a minimum set of components. But, despite its apparent simplicity, you can prepare an incredibly delicious dinner using it. To make a classic potato gratin, you will need:

200 grams of hard cheese.
4 potatoes.
250 milliliters 12% cream.
Salt, oregano and ground pepper.

The washed and peeled potatoes are cut into thin slices and then placed on the bottom of a mold lined with foil. All this is sprinkled with salt and spices, poured with half the total volume of cream and sprinkled with some of the existing grated cheese. Place a second layer of potatoes on top. It is also topped with cream. All this is put into the oven, heated to 190 degrees. After 22 minutes, the almost finished gratin, the recipe for which will probably end up in your cookbook, is sprinkled with the rest of the grated cheese and returned to the oven. In this case, the oven temperature is increased to 210 degrees and wait for a golden crust to appear.

Option with sour cream

Potato casserole made using the technology described below has a rather delicate taste and pleasant aroma. Therefore, it is ideal for a family dinner. Since this gratin recipe, a photo of which can be found in today’s article, involves the use of a certain set of components, see in advance whether you have in your house:

7 potatoes.
Large onion.
50 grams of good hard cheese.
4 large spoons of sour cream.
A couple of cloves of garlic.
½ teaspoon each dried basil and butter.
Salt and ground pepper.

The washed and peeled potatoes are cut into thin slices and blotted with paper towels. Then they are salted, peppered and gently mixed. Part of the prepared potatoes is placed on the bottom of a heat-resistant form, greased with butter, and poured with half of the sauce made from sour cream, crushed garlic, salt, grated cheese and pepper. Onion half rings and remaining potatoes are distributed on top. All this is poured with the second half of the sauce, sprinkled with dried basil and put into a warm oven. Bake the dish at 220 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Option with mushrooms

Potato gratin is a unique dish whose taste can be changed with the help of various additives. By adding fresh champignons to its composition, you will get an unusually aromatic and quite nutritious dinner for the whole family. To make this casserole, you will need:

7 potatoes.
200 grams of champignons.
3 cloves of garlic.
100 grams of good hard cheese.
1.5 cups cream.
30 grams of green onions.
Salt and spices (black pepper, paprika, curry and nutmeg).

Some of the washed and peeled potatoes are placed in an oiled refractory dish. It is lightly sprinkled with salt on top and covered with slices of mushrooms and a layer of chopped green onions. All this is poured with half the cream mixed with crushed garlic and seasoned with spices. The remaining potatoes and sauce are distributed on top. The future gratin is sprinkled with grated cheese, covered with foil and placed in a preheated oven. Bake it at 190 degrees for about half an hour. Then carefully open the pan and return it to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Option with minced meat

Gratin is a very interesting dish, the taste of which can be varied by adding ground meat. Thanks to this component, the casserole becomes more nutritious and high in calories. You can feed a large family with it. To prepare it you will need:

600 grams of potatoes.
A clove of garlic.
300 grams of ground beef.
200 milliliters of water.
400 grams of onion.
¼ stick of butter.
300 grams of sour cream.
7 large spoons of olive oil.
200 milliliters of cream.
Large spoon of sweet paprika.
40 grams of hard cheese.
Salt, a bunch of parsley and ground pepper.

The washed and peeled potatoes are cut into thin circles and placed in an oiled heat-resistant dish. Sprinkle a little salt and half of the chopped sautéed onion on top. All this is covered with some minced meat, fried with garlic and spices, and chopped herbs. Chopped root vegetables, onions and ground meat are again placed on top. It is important that the last layer is potato. All this is poured into a glass of water and sent for heat treatment. Bake the future gratin at 200 degrees for about half an hour. It is then topped with a sauce made from sour cream, cream, salt and paprika, and sprinkled with grated cheese. All this is returned to the oven and cooked for another 20 minutes.

Option with chicken and mushrooms

We draw your attention to another interesting recipe for potato gratin (photos of similar dishes can be found throughout today’s article). It can be used to relatively quickly make a hearty and tasty dinner for the whole family. For this you will need:

4 potatoes.
2 chicken breasts.
A dozen champignons.
100 grams of hard cheese.
Bulb.
½ cup pasteurized milk.
A couple of pinches of curry and salt.

Pieces of chicken fillet, potato slices, fried mushrooms and onion rings are laid out in layers in an oiled pan. All this is salted, seasoned with spices, poured with a mixture of milk and curry and sprinkled with grated cheese. Bake the dish at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

Option with bacon

This simple yet satisfying casserole is ideal for both family lunches and dinner parties. It has a light garlic aroma mixed with the smell of smoked meats. A step-by-step recipe for potato gratin (a photo of the dish can be found below) assumes the presence of a specific food set, including:

7 strips of bacon.
500 grams of potatoes.
2 onions.
50 milliliters of milk.
2 cloves of garlic.
50 milliliters of cream.
50 grams of cheese.
Salt, fresh herbs and vegetable oil (for greasing the mold).

Step #1. The potatoes are washed, peeled and cut into thin slices.

Step #2. A third of the prepared pieces are placed in an oiled pan.

Step #3. The bacon is cut into cubes and fried along with chopped onion.

Step #4. Part of the resulting mixture is spread on top of the potatoes.

Step #5. Layers alternate until all ingredients are completely used.

Step #6. The future gratin is poured with a sauce made from milk, cream, salt, spices and crushed garlic.

Step #7. All this is sprinkled with grated cheese and put into the oven, heated to 200 degrees.

Step No. 8. After 25 minutes, the finished dish is decorated with herbs and served for dinner.

Potato gratin is a cross between a pie and a casserole. Cut into thin slices and covered with a generous layer of grated cheese, potatoes in milk gravy are maximally softened and imbued with a pleasant creamy aroma.

With this technology, no meat is added, because the final dish already contains a sufficient amount of proteins and fats, and the taste is quite self-sufficient! Let's quickly prepare a simple potato gratin according to the recipe with photos step by step!

Ingredients:

potatoes - 1 kg;
cream (30-38%) - 300 ml;
milk - 300 ml;
garlic - 2 cloves;
nutmeg (optional) - ½ teaspoon;
cheese - 150 g;
salt - to taste.

Potato gratin recipe with photos step by step at home

After washing and peeling, cut the potato tubers into slices 2-3 mm thick.
Combine milk with cream in a large saucepan. Finely chop two small cloves of garlic with a knife and add to the milk mixture. Bring the liquid to a boil over low heat, add salt to taste, and add nutmeg or other spices/herbs if desired.
Place all the chopped potatoes into the boiling creamy milk mixture. To prepare potato gratin, it is advisable to use at least 30 percent cream. Firstly, they make the dish much tastier, and secondly, the higher the fat content of the cream, the less likely it is to curdle when boiling.
Cook the potato slices covered over low heat for 5-10 minutes (until half cooked). We carefully ensure that the potato slices are not overcooked, since depending on the type of tuber, the cooking time may vary.
Remove the semi-finished potato mugs from the milk gravy with a slotted spoon and place them in a slightly greased pan in rows of 2-3 layers. Pour the mixture of cream and milk remaining in the pan over the potatoes.
Spread three cheeses coarsely and evenly on top.
Place the future potato gratin in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes (until the potatoes are fully cooked). It is not worth keeping the dish in the oven longer, since even the thickest cream “does not like” prolonged boiling.
Fragrant potatoes baked in cream and milk, served hot, accompanied by milk gravy.

Delicate, rich in creamy notes, potato gratin captivates with its simplicity and impeccable taste. Enjoy your meal!

The famous French dish, which has won the hearts of many people around the world, can easily be prepared at home. Classic potato gratin is easy to prepare; today we will tell you a step-by-step recipe that will help you prepare a delicious potato gratin. This hearty dish can be prepared as a side dish for lunch or dinner and complement main meat dishes.

Calorie content of potato gratin with cheese and cream

The calorie content and nutritional value of French potato gratin are calculated per 100 grams of the finished dish. Potato gratin contains potatoes, milk, cream, and cheese.

The table shows approximate values. The BJU of a classic gratin can vary significantly depending on the ingredients used.

How to make potato gratin

The classic recipe for potato gratin involves the simultaneous use of heavy cream and milk. The thing is that milk can release more liquid during cooking, and this in turn will make the potatoes even more tender. Potato gratin can be cooked in the oven or in a frying pan, but we will tell you a classic recipe with a photo, which involves using the oven.

Ingredients

Potatoes - 0.5 kg.
Heavy cream - 100 ml.
Milk - 200 ml.
Hard cheese - 60 gr.
Garlic - 2 cloves
Butter - 15 gr.
Ground nutmeg
Pepper

Making potato gratin

Step 1.

Let's start preparing French potato casserole with the necessary preparation of ingredients. The potatoes must be thoroughly washed and peeled.

Step 2.

Cut the prepared tubers into thin slices. This is one of the most important stages, right now it depends on how tender the French gratin will be. The thinner the potato slices, the more tender the dish will be. To reduce slicing time, you can use a special grater.

Step 3.

This step is no less important than the previous one. In order for the potato gratin to have a beautiful golden color with a fragrant crust, you need to prepare a creamy sauce. In a deep bowl, mix warm cream and milk. There is no need to heat them, you can just leave them at room temperature for an hour.

Step 4.

Season with salt and pepper, then add grated nutmeg.

Step 5.

French chefs know like no other how to make a delicious sauce. Let's use a little culinary trick from our French colleagues and chop the garlic cloves correctly.

First, press the garlic a little with the flat side of the knife, and then finely chop it. Garlic chopped in this way will transfer more of its juice to the dish and, as a result, taste.

Carefully pour it into the creamy sauce and stir.

Step 6.

Grease the dish in which you will bake the potato gratin with butter.

Step 7

Place half the potatoes in a bowl in neat, even layers and top with some of the cream sauce.

Step 8

Then layer the remaining potato slices and pour the sauce over again.

Step 9

Carefully wrap the future gratin potatoes in foil and place in the oven preheated to 160 degrees for 45 minutes. At such a low temperature, it is necessary to cook the dish until almost done.

Gratin is a dish that works well both on weekdays and on holidays. Every housewife should know his recipe. At least basic. There are many variations. You just need to understand the essence of the dish.

France, so France

French chefs create many interesting dishes. Gratin is one of them. Although, in fact, you can call it a potato casserole with various fillings, which has been known in Russia for centuries. But let the “greats” enjoy themselves. We are interested in taste, not disputes about primacy and primogeniture. Gratin (French Gratin), to be precise. This is any savory or sweet dish cooked in the oven. But “au gratin” means the method of preparing the product itself.

The main thing in the process is rightly considered to be the selection of the required temperature. First, the dish is cooked at medium temperature. Then it is increased so that the crust turns out as intended. Gratin can be cooked on the grill, in the microwave or in the slow cooker. But the classic of the genre is the oven. Preparing gratins is not difficult. If you do everything right. The process takes from an hour to an hour and a half. The most popular gratins are meat and fish. But, as always, over time, cooks came up with a lot of recipes. With mushrooms, bacon, poultry and vegetables. We are not interested in fruit recipes today. Well, popular - yes.

Classic potato gratin with cheese

What will be needed:

potatoes - 1 kg;
cheese - 130 g;
garlic - 15 g;
cream - 200 ml;
butter;
ground nutmeg - on the tip of a knife;
salt;
pepper.

How to cook:

In a medium saucepan, combine cream and nutmeg. Add some salt and pepper. Mix well with a whisk. Place over moderate heat. Cook until boiling with constant stirring. Remove the saucepan from the stove. Cool.
Process the potatoes and wash them. Cut into thin slices or circles.
Process the garlic. Finely chop or crush with a press.
Grease the bottom of the prepared baking dish with butter. Place prepared potatoes in layers. Pour all the laid layers with the creamy mixture, which should have cooled by this point. Transfer the pan to the oven for 3/4 hour.
Grind the cheese with a coarse grater. After 45 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle cheese over the surface. Place back into oven. Bake until golden brown.
Take it out. Cool slightly. Portion and serve hot.

Calorie content per 100 g: 247 kcal

Potato gratin with minced meat

What will be needed:

potatoes - 600 g;
cheese - 300 g;
minced pork - 300 g;
garlic - 15 g;
cream - 20% - 150 ml;
salt;
pepper;
spices;
greenfinch;
chicken eggs - 1 pc.

How to cook:

Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut into a thin slice or circle (optional). Place it in a buttered pan in one layer. Sprinkle with finely chopped garlic. Next, in two layers, one after another, come minced meat and cheese grated with a coarse grater. These two layers must be laid out so that all the products are removed. Sprinkle the surface layer with cheese so that it creates a beautiful golden brown crust.
The mold with the semi-finished product must be moved to the oven at a temperature of 160. Cook for 25 minutes. After this, set the temperature to 190-200.
During baking, you need to prepare the filling. In a bowl, combine cream, egg, finely chopped herbs. Salt and pepper the mixture, add spices. Mix the contents thoroughly with a whisk. Pour the resulting mixture into the dish after half an hour of cooking. As soon as a nice crust appears, remove the dish from the oven. Portion after cooling slightly. Decorate with a sprig of greenery. Serve.

Calorie content per 100 g: 165.95 kcal

Potato gratin with mushrooms

What will be needed:

potatoes - 600 g;
mushrooms - 500 g;
cream 10% - 250 ml;
cheese - 200 g;
onion - 200 g;
vegetable oil - 100 ml;
dill - 30 g;
celery greens - 10 g;
chicken egg - 3 pcs.

How to cook:

Process the potatoes and wash them. Cut into thin slices.
Process the onion. Cut it into thin half-straws.
Process the mushrooms. Rinse, preferably with flour. Cut into 5mm slices.
Saute the chopped onion for 5 minutes. Then add champignons. Cook until the liquid has completely evaporated. You can cook onions and mushrooms separately - as everyone likes. Then the mushrooms and onions need to be salted and peppered.
In a separate container, combine eggs, cream and coarsely grated cheese.
Grease a baking pan with a small piece of butter. Next, lay in layers: overlapping potatoes, mushrooms and onions on top. Sprinkle with cheese and chopped herbs. Drizzle with egg-cream mixture.
The top row should be potatoes. It is simply filled with the rest of the egg-cream mixture. The form must be “sealed” with foil.
Move the pan to the oven, set to 180. Cook for about an hour. After this, the foil must be carefully removed (remove it with gloves to avoid getting burned by the steam!). Sprinkle the remaining cheese and herbs over the surface. Return it back. Cook for another 25 minutes. Check the readiness of the casserole with a toothpick - pierce the potatoes. If it is soft, then the dish is ready.
Remove the finished dish from the oven. Portion and bring to the table.

Calorie content per 100 g: 140.80 kcal

What will be needed:

pumpkin - 500 g;
milk - 200 ml;
white bread - 60 g (a couple of pieces);
cheese - 200 g;
butter - 100 g;
garlic - 15 g;
pepper;
thyme - 4 branches;
salt.

How to cook:

Calorie content per 100 g: 137 kcal

What will be needed:

potatoes - 1.0 kg;
cream - 500 ml;
cheese - 160 g;
bacon - 60 g;
pepper;
salt;
chicken egg - 2 pcs.

How to cook:

The potatoes must be washed and peeled. Cut into thin slices or circles. place in a large bowl. Pour in the cream. Mix carefully.
Then coat the bottom and sides of any suitable refractory casserole dish. Then place potatoes and thinly sliced bacon into the pan. Then again potatoes. The display continues until the ingredients run out.
Each row must be added, seasoned, sprinkled with spices and grated cheese.
Given the "saltiness" of the bacon and cheese, be careful with the salt.
The mold with the semi-finished product is moved into the oven at 180. Cooking takes 45 minutes. After half an hour, the pan must be removed from the oven, sprinkled with chopped green stuff and cheese, and returned to the oven.
As soon as the dish is covered with a crust, you can safely remove it from the oven. Cool slightly. Cut into portions and take to the table. The dish does not require any special decoration, but if desired, you can use greens, black olives and black olives.

Calorie content per 100 g: 173.47 kcal

What will be needed:

potatoes - 1 kg;
milk - 400 ml;
cheese - 250 g;
garlic - 15 g;
ground nutmeg;
salt.

How to cook:

Potatoes, process, peel. Cut into thin slices. Place potatoes in a bowl of water. This will remove excess starch. Then drain the water and dry the potatoes.
Pour milk into a saucepan. Add nutmeg. Mix. Place the saucepan on the stove.
Grind the cheese with a coarse grater. Process and chop the garlic.
Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the first layer of the selected gratin baking dish. Season the entire layer with salt and sprinkle with garlic. Lastly, add 1/3 of the grated cheese.
Repeat this process with the remaining components, which need to be laid out in two more layers.
Sprinkle the topmost layer with milk heated with nutmeg.
Add the remaining cheese to the pan.
Accelerate the oven to 180. Place the gratin in it and cook for 45 minutes.
This time is enough for the milk to evaporate. The cheese will become a beautiful golden brown crust.
Remove the finished gratin from the oven. Portion. Serve.

Calorie content per 100 g: 114.83 kcal

Potato gratin with cream

What will be needed:

potatoes - 1.0 kg;
cream - 400 ml;
salt;
pepper;
cheese - 200 g.

How to cook:

Cut the processed potatoes into thin slices.
Pour cream into a baking container. So that they cover the bottom.
Place potato slices side by side in the pan. Add some salt. Season with pepper. Then another layer. Again, add salt, pepper and pour in the cream. And so on until the end of the potatoes.
Pour some cream over the surface. Place the mold for half an hour with the oven preheated to 200.
After half an hour, remove the mold. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over the surface, which should cover the top layer well. Return to the oven for another half hour.
The dish is ready - there is a golden crust on the surface of the dish.

Calorie content per 100 g: 172.89 kcal

What will be needed:

potatoes - 800 kg;
onion - 150 gr;
garlic - 15 g;
salt;
cheese - 100 g;
sour cream - 100 gr;
water - 125 ml.

How to cook:

Process the potatoes and wash them.
Cut into 3 mm circles.
Add the desired spices to the potatoes.
Cut the processed, washed onion to your taste - into half-straws or small cubes.
Add onions to potatoes. Add some salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients.
Add the processed chopped garlic to the potatoes and mix again.
Grease the mold with oil. Place potatoes into it.
Coat the surface of the potatoes with sour cream. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Coat with sour cream again. Pour a little water into the mold.
Place the pan in the oven at 250 for 25 minutes. When the gratin is covered with a golden crust, remove it from the oven.
Cool slightly, portion and serve.

Calorie content per 100 g: 106.33 kcal

Video recipe

Note to the hostess

Cheddar cheese is simply perfect for gratin;
In general, only hard cheeses should be used for gratin;
nutmeg is largely optional if you don't like it;
It is not necessary to choose high-fat cream - medium-fat cream is better;
young potatoes - ideal for gratin;
For a festive dish, it is better to use either pots or ordinary salad forms - rings, in which it should be baked.

Potato gratin is a delicious aromatic dish of French cuisine. Essentially, a gratin is a casserole of potatoes drowned in a creamy sauce, with the addition of aromatic seasonings and cheese. The ingredients for gratin are so simple that you can easily prepare it at home.

The secret to a delicious gratin is in the type of potato you use to prepare it. Potatoes should be well-cooked and have a high starch content. Otherwise, the dish will feel “rubbery”.

Ingredients: ( for 4 servings)

1 kg potatoes
250 ml cream 20% fat
300 ml milk
60 g cheese
1-2 cloves of garlic
20 g butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Three half the cheese on a fine grater. We use the second half at the end of cooking for the cheese crust.

Pour milk and 2/3 cream into a ladle, bring to a boil and add grated cheese. Keep on very low heat so that the mixture does not boil, stir and wait until the cheese melts. As a rule, the cheese does not dissolve completely, grains remain, but this is not a problem, the cheese will still melt during baking. Add salt, ground black pepper and be sure to add nutmeg.

Stir the spices. The aromatic creamy sauce for potato gratin is ready.

Cut the potatoes into very thin slices. It is convenient to do this with a vegetable cutter, but you can also use a knife. The thinner the slices, the tastier the gratin will be.

We will bake the gratin in a small non-stick pan. My form measures 18*25 cm, but a smaller one will do. Pass a large clove of garlic through a press and grease the bottom of the mold. When baking, the smell of garlic is felt, but in the finished gratin the garlic is not felt at all.

Place a third of the chopped potatoes in the pan, overlapping the slices.

Pour in half of the creamy sauce and cheese. Then we overlap the second layer of potatoes and pour the remaining sauce on top. Place the third layer and pour in 1/3 of the cream that was left at the beginning before preparing the sauce. Lightly salt the top layer.

Cover the pan with foil and place in an oven preheated to 160-170 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

After this time, take out the mold, remove the foil and top with the remaining cheese.