Individual Potato Gratins

[baroness]

As the date for the VIP reception I'm directing is near, I'm testing the new recipes. The gratins are very tasty but do not hold together well.

Here's the recipe:

Individual Potato Gratins


• 2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced (I found that ONE 8-oz. potato was enough for all 8 tins)

• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese (I used 3 oz. of Jarlsberg)

• 2 green onions, finely chopped

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream (I used 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. (I used the disposable foil cups)

Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate (yeah, right!) and serve.

1. Would grating the potatoes help?

2. What about adding an egg, or a portion of an egg? Or flour?

As I used the maximum amount of cream in the test batch, I'll cut back on that. The cheese flavor is nicely balanced now; otherwise I could 'glue' them together with more cheese.

Ideas are very welcome!

[Marlene]

Whole gratins need time to sit before slicing so that they hold together. I would imagine it would be the same for individual ones. Have you rested these before inverting?

[baroness]

I had rested-20 minutes or so- samples for lunch; warm and tasty but too much cream/sauce to eat gracefully. Now I checked on the well-cooled ones and they are about the same consistency. They need to be drier.

[HungryC]

Use a waxy potato (red skinned, for example) rather than the floury russets. The additional starch in the potatoes will help to solidify the texture. Yukon golds are more starchy than russets, but not as starchy as red potatoes. If you don't like the texture of waxy potatoes, try using part russet and part red skinned.

[Marlene]

I would agree with using yukons (which is pretty much what I use for most gratins or reds. Martha Stewart makes something similar though it's not a gratin, more like a potato cake in a muffin tin. If you decide to grate the potatoes, I'd squeeze them dry first. Here's Martha's potato cake recipe for comparison

2 T soft unsalted butter

1 T dark brown sugar

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T red wine vinegar

2 t finely chopped fresh thyme

1 small red onion thinly sliced

4 Yukon gold potatoes, coarsely grated

1 egg yolk, slightly beaten

To make, butter 6 muffin cups or ramekins. In the bottom of each cup,

sprinkle some salt and pepper, a bit of the dark brown sugar (you may

not need the whole tablespoon) and divide the vinegars evenly among

the cups. You can put a small sprig of thyme in each cup if you like,

Place a small round of the red onion in each cup.

Press the grated potatoes to remove as much water as you can. The toss

them with the thyme and egg yolk and a bit of salt and pepper. Press

the potato mixture into each cup, dot the tops with the soft butter

and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until the nicely browned

and tender. Let sit for a few minutes before running a knife around the

edges, and invert and serve.

the original recipe calls for rosemary which I found way overpowering,

and they don't suggest pressing the potatoes, which I found resulted

in a fairly wet potato. I think these should come out a bit crispier,

which is why I suggest it here. And you may want to back off on the

brown sugar a bit, otherwise, they tend to be a bit sweet.

--

[baroness]

I was considering using Klondike Rose potatoes for this, but I'm not likely to pick THOSE up until Thursday. Not much time to test before Saturday....

OR: Should I scrap the individual serving idea, make a large shallow pan with these ingredients, and cut (the hopefully firm) gratin into squares or triangles???

[HungryC]

I'd probably buy a couple dozen glass ramekins at the restaurant supply house and do individual ones that don't need to be unmolded. Ramekins will run $1.50 or less, and you can certainly find other uses for them. Or if you want disposable, you can find those at the same place. I've used foil ones, paper bakeable ones, and paper non-bakeable souffle cups to hold various things. The paper ones come in plain & fancy versions.

[saturnbar]

I wonder what adding a little instant mashed potato to the cream would do? Probably a bad idea. ch

[Anna N]

Curious! I just downloaded a recipe for a similar idea with the intent of trying it very soon click. Notice that this calls for partially cooking the potatoes first. I usually choose Yukons for gratins and similar dishes. I wish I could tell you that I have tested this but I have not had a chance yet! If you have time it might be worth a trial.

[baroness]

Anna, those DO look good. And quite similar!

Maybe I can meld the 2 recipes together, taking my very thin raw potatoes and Jarlsberg and adding (a smaller amount of) butter and trying THAT amount of cream in place of the half & half.

I have a feeling the neighbors will be getting samples to try, as I try to perfect this dish.

[Anna N]

Anna, those DO look good. And quite similar!

Maybe I can meld the 2 recipes together, taking my very thin raw potatoes and Jarlsberg and adding (a smaller amount of) butter and trying THAT amount of cream in place of the half & half.

I have a feeling the neighbors will be getting samples to try, as I try to perfect this dish.

Damn! I wish I were a neighbour!

[Sony]

My most successful, cohesive gratin involved parboiling (more like parsimmering) the potatoes (can't remember which kind- maybe yukon golds?) in the milk mixture, maybe 1/3 of the way, then pouring that into a buttered dish before baking with the cheese, herbs, etc. The extra starch in the sauce, plus ample resting time, is what did the trick, I think (guess). That might work to create something cohesive enough to be unmolded.

Edited September 29, 2009 by Sony (log)

[Blether]

Elizabeth David suggests 1.5 hours at 310F (10 minutes at a higher temp for final browning) for a traditional Gratin Dauphinois - and it's not as if the shape would determine a very different cooking time for the format you're aiming for. Maybe your potatoes and your cream would liaise better after a lomger acquaintance.

Edited September 29, 2009 by Blether (log)

[baroness]

The recipe has been conquered!

I used 10 ounces of very thinly sliced, unpeeled Klondike Rose potatoes, 4 oz. of chopped Jarlsberg, scallions and seasonings as above, then tried 3 different amounts of heavy cream. The winner was 1/2 Tablespoon per (foil) muffin cup. Baked for 40 minutes, they are great!

[ElsieD]

Baroness, did you use Martha;s recipe? I'm anxious to try these. Is that 10 oz. of potato per serving?

[baroness]

No, I used the recipe in the very first post, with the changes I noted.

They were a HUGE hit; had several requests/demands for the recipe.

And that's 10 ounces of potatoes for 8 foil muffin cups. Do pile the ingredients as high as possible, as they shrink in baking.

[ElsieD]

So this would be the recipe then? I'm keen to try these as my husband doesn't like potatoes unless they're dressed up a bit. Did you use those foil cups with the straight sides that you sometimes see a custard in? Do you think they would freeze? Sorry about all the questions.

Individual Potato Gratins




• 2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced (I found that ONE 10-oz. potato was enough for all 8 tins)

• 1/2 cup grated Swiss (Jarlsberg) cheese

• 2 green onions, finely chopped

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 T heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. (I used the disposable foil cups)

Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1/2 tablespoon of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

[baroness]

Not quite....

NOT! russet potatoes - use Klondike Rose or Yukon Gold

4 oz. - by weight - of Jarlsberg; this will measure out to more than 1/2 cup, I would think

I used Reynolds foil baking cups, the 2.5 inch/63mm size (sometimes used for muffins and cupcakes)

I don't know about the freezing; you could certainly try a few and see what happens.

[ElsieD]

Thanks again. I have made the corrections. You are right - 4 oz. grated cheese is more likely to be about about 1 cup. At least, that's what I use for grated cheddar. I'm looking forward to making these.