potato and leek gratin

Because I do not often crave potatoes slow-baked in a cream bath with a burnish of cheese and fine crunch top, when I do, I know exactly how I want it to taste and how much work I’m willing to do to make it happen. Since it’s been eleven years (!) since I last shared apotato gratinhere, I think it’s worth revisiting as we head into gratin season, which is not a thing, I absolutely just made that up, but really should be for colder weather and shorter days. I prefer my potatoes unpeeled; I like the definition on the edges as they bake up. I prefer stacks of potatoes leaning this way and that versus the traditional flat layers, because it creates more texture and a looser density. I love big chunks of leeks in a potato gratin, not sautéed and hidden, but wedged in all over, sharing the spotlight. I prefer cheese only on top and while I like crumbs, too, they have to be tossed in butter first so they remind me of buttered toast and not, say, sawdust. And while I in the past have made gratins with milk and/or half-and-half, I feel especially at this moment in time that if we’re going to do anything, we might as well do it spectacularly, and that will require heavy cream. Not so much that the potatoes are drowning, but enough that they bake up to the luxurious texture that makes a gratin worth daydreaming about. This is a low-fuss, almost rustic gratin save one tiny extra step: if you can bear adding three minutes, I like to heat the cream with the garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme until simmering for a total infusion. It leads to a more evenly seasoned gratin. Should you need to halve this, you could do so in an 8- to 9-inch cake pan or equivalent oven-safe pan. But even if you, like most of us, are looking out over highly modified and much smaller holidays this year, I have a hunch that it’s been too long since you had potatoes this good. You know what to do next. Elsewhere:I was on Splendid Table last week, chatting with Francis Lam about ways we can modify our holidays this year while still having great food celebrations.You can listen here. 6 months ago:Any-Kind-Of-Fruit Galette1 year ago:Perfect Apple Tarte Tatin2 year ago:Roberta’s Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad3 years ago:Endive Salad with Toasted Breadcrumbs4 years ago:Roasted Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds and Brown ButterandApple Strudel5 years ago:Oven FriesandChocolate Peanut and Pretzel Brittle6 years ago:Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar7 years ago:Spinach and Egg Pizzettes8 years ago:Apple Cider Caramels9 years ago:Homesick Texan Carnitas10 years ago:Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat CheeseandBuckeyes11 years ago:Baked Chicken MeatballsandSalted Brown Butter Crispy Treats12 years ago:Cabbage and Mushroom GaletteandPeanut Butter Crispy Bars13 years ago:Cranberry Caramel and Almond TartandChicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic14 years ago:Not Your Mama’s Coleslaw