Black garlic potato gratin
Is there any gathering when a potato gratin is not a welcome addition to any table? Personally, I can’t think of a single one! I love a good potato gratin and usually serve it alongside a roast like my Herbs de Provence roast chicken or as a side to a weekend BBQ, however, I find it’s a good side dish to pretty much any gathering. Because, well, Potatoes!
I find every family has their own version of a potato gratin. With bacon, or without, how much cream, and should there be cheese? A traditional potato au gratin doesn’t, however, cheese is life, so I will always add cheese! The same goes for leeks, again, not traditional, but I love a leek gratin, so I always add them. Two birds, one stone, you get the picture! Mine has sweet potato layered alongside regular potato slices with a good smattering of delicious Swiss gruyere on top. It’s one that has evolved over time from my Mum’s version. It’s simple and classic, and I just love the sweetness of the sweet potato alongside the richness of the creamy, black garlic and leek sauce.
What you need to get started
- Vegetables – potatoes, sweet potatoes and a leek (make sure it’s thoroughly washed!)
- Butter
- Black garlic
- Thickened cream
- Sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground pepper
- Swiss gruyere – you could also try comte, parmesan or even cheddar.
The details
- Preheat oven to 180°c
- In a small saucepan melt the butter on a low heat. Add the sliced leeks and saute gently for a couple of minutes until they have collapsed. Pop aside to cool
- Slice the potatoes and sweet potatoes roughly 2-3mm thick. In your baking pan, arrange the potatoes and sweet potatoes either sitting up in rows (as I did) or laying flat if you prefer.
- Randomly insert leeks in between potato slices. Pour remaining butter and leeks over the top of the potatoes.
- In a bowl, combine cream, crushed black garlic, salt, and pepper. Give a quick mix with a fork to combine and pour evenly over the potatoes. Cover the baking pan (with foil or a lid) and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and top with the grated gruyere cheese. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. Again, remove from the oven and serve.
Equipment
Very little is in the way of equipment is required when it comes to a good potato bake. I usually use either my food processor with the 2mm slicing blade or a mandoline, depending on how I want the Potato bake to look. For a whole potato slice like in the image, a mandoline is your best option! Aside from the mandoline, a good roasting dish is essential to bake into. I used my oval copper baking dish for this recipe.
What is black garlic?
Can’t get enough of this stuff. Black garlic is garlic that has been aged at a constant warm temperature for a month or so. It’s not as intense as regular garlic but rewards with a beautiful, subtle flavour that adds such depth to a dish. Use it wherever a recipe calls for garlic or experiment when you want an added oomph to a recipe. I add to soups, stews, sauces & roasts, but by far, my favourite way is to add to a little butter and smother (and let melt) over a resting steak – you can thank me later!
Black garlic potato gratin goes with…
When do I start? What doesn’t it go with? Pick your meat of choice and pop it alongside a good roast. It works equally well with pork, beef, or chicken. I dream about potato gratin with baked salmon, a watercress sauce, and green beans – all thanks to living in the UK and M&S. Total heaven. It’s also a regular BBQ side dish. Pop it on the table with all the BBQ must-haves, sausages, steak, chicken kebabs, etc.
A few notes
If you prefer to lay your potato slices flat, just insert the leeks and drizzle the cream mixture as you layer your potato and sweet potato to ensure a balanced gratin.
Short on time? Cook up until the last step. Instead of topping with the Swiss gruyere and returning to the oven, let it cool. Then pop into the fridge until you are ready to bake. Top with the cheese and bake as per instructions. You will find that you will need to increase the cooking time to make sure it is hot all the way through.
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Black garlic potato gratin
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 8+ people 1x
- Category: BBQ, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish
- Cuisine: French
Description
Serve alongside my Herbs de Provence roast chicken on roast night or as a side to a weekend BBQ, however, I find it’s a good side dish to pretty much any gathering… Because, well, Potatoes!
Ingredients
- ½ leek (washed and sliced thinly )
- knob butter
- 1 kg potatoes
- 500 g sweet potatoes
- 3 cloves black garlic – crushed
- 500 ml thickened cream
- good pinch salt flakes
- freshly ground pepper
- 120 g swiss gruyere (finely grated)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°c
- In a small saucepan melt the butter on a low heat. Add the sliced leeks and saute gently for a couple of minutes until they have collapsed. Pop aside to cool
- Slice the potatoes and sweet potatoes roughly 2-3mm thick. In your baking pan, arrange the potatoes and sweet potatoes either sitting us in rows (as I did) or laying flat if you prefer.
- Randomly insert leeks in between potato slices. Pour remaining butter and leeks over the top of the potatoes.
- In a bowl, combine cream, crushed black garlic, salt, and pepper. Give a quick mix with a fork to combine and pour evenly over the potatoes. Cover the baking pan (with foil or a lid) and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and top with the grated gruyere cheese. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. Again, remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
If you prefer to lay your potato slices flat, just insert the leeks and drizzle the cream mixture as you layer your potato and sweet potato to ensure a balanced gratin.
A few more slow cooked dinners…
