A golden, creamy pot of potato goodness so good it can be eaten on its own
The addition of lemon, capers and artichoke takes this gratin to summery new heights.
My lemon, artichoke and potato gratin is more than just a side. You can dress it up or down; I often enjoy it simply as is with a perfectly dressed green salad and crisp glass of riesling. By using half cream, half stock, the result is a lighter version of the Dauphinoise. The addition of lemon, capers and artichoke takes the dish to summery new heights.
If you like this, try:
Lennox Hastie’s salt-crust potatoes
Elizabeth Hewson’s potato tart
A flaky prosiutto flat pie full of flavour
Lemon and artichoke potato gratin
Ingredients
- Olive oil, to grease dish and foil
- 1.25kg Dutch cream potatoes, peeled
- 200ml pure cream
- 200ml vegetable or chicken stock
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt flakes
- Freshly ground pepper
- 150g marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced in half
- 1 tablespoons capers in vinegar, drained (optional)
- 25g butter
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced). Butter a 2-litre casserole dish. Slice potatoes into 3mm slices. (Use a mandoline, if you have one, to make fast work of it).
- Add cream, stock, lemon zest and thyme into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and generously with black pepper. Simmer for 1 minute then turn off heat to infuse. I like to transfer this mixture to a jug to make it easier to pour, but this is optional.
- Now to layer – we are aiming for four layers of potato here but don’t get too caught up on this as it will depend on your dish. The important thing is to follow the order and to end on potatoes, not artichokes and capers as they will brown quickly. Create one layer of potatoes in the bottom of your dish, overlapping each potato roughly by a third. Don’t overthink this. Add roughly a third of your artichokes, sprinkle with a third of your capers and finish off with another layer of potatoes.
- Pour over a quarter of your cream mixture. Use a spatula to press down on the layers to help them compact. Continue with artichokes, capers, potato and cream mixture until you have reached the top of your dish or used up your potatoes up, ensuring to finish with a layer of potatoes. Dot with butter. Tightly cover dish with a well-oiled piece of foil and place dish on a tray to catch overspill. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Remove foil and bake for a further 10-15 minutes to get a nice golden top. Stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 4