Gratin is a widespread culinary technique in which an ingredient is topped with a brown crust using bread crumbs, cheese and even melted butter. Gratin originated in French cuisine, the ingredients are all put together in a shallow dish and baked or grilled till a crust is formed on top. Gratins are traditionally served in the same baking dish.

Potato au gratin is a baked potato dish with thin slices of potato, crispy bits of bacon, cheddar cheese, cream – not to forget minced garlic.

Potato is a vegetable that contains lot of starch and carbohydrates and can be eaten in many ways- mashed, baked, as a salad and of course everybody’s favourite – french fries . It was for a Sunday lunch that I made this gratin and we were watching  a movie  on TV, turned out to be a TV lunch. Nikhil is kind of wary about potatoes, so is Renjit, my husband. Well, it was a pleasant surprise to watch both the men enjoy the au gratin -I guess it’s the fried salty bits of bacon with the thin slices of potato all coated with a flavourful cream sauce that got the guys going! Rhea and I loved it. It turned out to be a good Sunday -TV lunch, great movie and family time. Potato au gratin – you’re an absolute winner!

A wonderful weekend recipe …..

Ingredients :

• Potatoes -5 big
• Garlic  minced-8-10 cloves
• Cheddar cheese-1 cup grated
• Bacon bits -3/4 cup (Fried)
• Parsley -1tsp (dried)
• Cream-350 ml
• Butter-2 tbsp melted
• Salt and pepper
• Breadcrumbs  to sprinkle -1 tbsp

Method:

• Slice potatoes as thin as possible.
• To the potatoes, add minced garlic, grated cheddar cheese and fried bacon bits.
• Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
• Add about 200 ml of cream and mix well.
• Transfer the potato mix to a dish and level the potatoes with the back of a spoon.
• Add the remaining cream to fill all the gaps at the edges.
• Test for seasoning, if required, add a little more of pepper.
• Pour melted butter on top, sprinkle breadcrumbs and bake in a preheated oven at 200 deg.c for 40 minutes till the edges are bubbling and golden brown.
• Serve hot.

Chefs tips :

• Since there is a three quarter cup of fried bacon bits added, go easy on the salt added as seasoning. 
• You could add a pinch of red chilly flakes to make it a little more spicy.
• For the vegetarians, you could omit the bacon bits and carry on with the recipe.
• This au gratin serves 4 .

  Always cook with love. Always bake with your heart. Always enjoy yourself.

Till my next post,

Cheers

Rose