Update and Redux: C – We do love potatoes. This potato bacon gratin is one great way to use up potatoes this Winter. It’s warm, gooey and full of flavor. If you’re going to a pot luck party during the Holiday, make this and you will be the talk of the party … or, at least, this dish will be.
C – What’s the point of a gratin if there’s not any cheese?
There was something not right for me about this recipe when I first saw it. No cheese in a gratin? The cheese is the best part for me. That’s the thing I look forward to the most.
Jim really didn’t like my reply when he asked me to look at one of his favorite chef’s cookbooks and consider making a potato bacon gratin. It just didn’t make any sense to me not to have cheese in it. Just cream would make it taste like sliced potatoes and bacon with some cream.
Who cares if it just tastes good? The texture is equally important. The appearance of something is as important as the smell, the texture and the taste. It works as a whole and not just parts.
The cheese doesn’t have to be gooey, but it has to bind everything together in a gratin. Of course, the most important part is a crispy top It has to be there. The crispy, cheesy part is the best. It’s like mac and cheese without the breadcrumb crispy topping.
So, I added some cheese to the recipe.
This gratin turned out great!
I don’t know if I would have really liked it without the cheese. It really held it together, without overpowering the other ingredients. I loved the thick bacon idea. That was awesome.
Thick pieces of bacon with thin slices of potato, some caramelized onion and a hint of thyme. It really had a complex textures. A great appetizer and a great side dish.
| Potato Bacon Gratin |
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced paper thin
- ½ pound slab bacon, cut in generous 3/8″ slices
- 1 pound onions, sliced thinly
- 11/3 to 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced thinnly
- 2 tsp of thyme leaves, plus one teaspoon of thyme leaves
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup grated Parmigian-Reggiano cheese, more for broiling
- ½ cup grated Gruyere cheese
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cut bacon into 3/8 inch cubes
- Heat a saute pan on medium high heat. Add bacon and cook for 5 minutes, until tender and crisp. Remove with slotted spoon, reserving the bacon fat in the pan.
- Add onions, 2 teaspoons of thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook onions until onions are caramelized. Add chives into the mixture. Remove from heat onto a bowl.
- Combine Parmigian-Reggiano and gruyere cheese in a small bowl.
- In a gratin dish or a 9×9 inch casserole dish pour ½ cup of cream on the bottom.
- Place a layer of potatoes and have the potatoes slightly overlaping. Sprinkle ⅓ teaspoon of thyme. Sprinkle salt and pepper on to the potatoes. Press down to make sure that cream coats all the potatoes.
- Add ⅓ onions, ⅓ bacon and ⅓ cheese.
- Lay another layer of potatoes. Add salt, pepper to taste and ⅓ teaspoon of thyme. Then add ⅓ onions, ⅓ bacon, ⅓ cheese. Drizzle ¼ cup cream.
- Add two more layers of potatoes. Add salt, pepper to taste and ⅓ teaspoon thyme.
- Scatter the rest of the onions, bacon, and cheese. Dizzle ½ cup of cream. Cream should cover the potatoes but not look soupy.
- If you have more potatoes, add them to the top. Sprinkle with the remaining bacon and add the rest of the cheese. Press down gratin to make sure potatoes are covered in cream. Add more cream if the gratin seems dry.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 1½ hours, until the potatoes are tender when pierced. Remove from oven and carefully uncover.
- The the oven up to 425 degrees. Sprinkle more Parmigian-Reggiano return gratin to oven. Bake until cheese is golden brown about 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool just a little
- Enjoy!
I kept on returning for more even after I finished my dinner. It was a great combination. Sweet onions and potatoes with thick chunks of bacon in a creamy sauce topped with a crunchy cheese crust.
This is comfort food at its best!
Adapted from: Suzanne Goin’s “Sunday Suppers at Luques”