Higher Than Scalloped Potatoes: Dauphinoise Potatoes

Consider these Dauphinoise potatoes as scalloped potatoes all dressed up for Easter—additional creamy, tremendous tacky, and just a bit bit French in the easiest way.

Right here we’re, candy buddies—our Nancy Meyers Easter Menu, the place each dish feels prefer it must be served in a sun-drenched kitchen with linen napkins and a very good playlist buzzing within the background. We’re going basic and complicated this 12 months. Cozy? Sure. Perhaps a bit of difficult? Additionally sure. However well worth the effort? Each final buttery chunk.

We’re going mild on the eggs as a result of… it’s 2025, and perhaps you didn’t pre-order six dozen from a neighborhood farm in January. No judgment right here. That is our large spring gathering—the Thanksgiving of tulip season—besides this time Will and I gained’t be throwing a shock wedding ceremony on the entrance porch. (As soon as is a lot.)

Whether or not you’re gathering the entire crew for Easter or simply dusting off the eating room chairs on your first spring brunch, it’s the right excuse to throw collectively a meal that feels breezy however secretly took you hours. We’re speaking buttermilk-marinated hen thighs, a celery salad I’m actually obsessive about, and these dreamy Dauphinoise potatoes that deserve a sluggish clap. Let’s begin there, as a result of cheese and cream are all the time the correct place to start.

Listed here are the elements you’ll have to make the most effective scalloped potatoes ever – a effervescent and wealthy Dauphinoise Potato!

• Unsalted butter – Only a slick on the baking dish to maintain issues from sticking, however extra importantly, it units the tone for all of the goodness that follows.

• Gruyère cheese – Melty, nutty, barely funky in the easiest way—Gruyère brings wealthy depth and that impossible to resist effervescent high layer we’re all right here for.

• Yukon Gold potatoes – These are our buttery spine. They maintain their form fantastically whereas absorbing all of the cream and cheese. A non-negotiable.

• Garlic – Three cloves minced into the cream base provides a savory be aware that subtly perfumes each chunk. Don’t skip it.

• Heavy cream – Cream is what makes these potatoes luxurious. It bubbles into each layer and creates that silky, indulgent texture.

• Entire milk – Helps lighten the cream only a contact, ensuring our last dish isn’t too thick or too heavy.

• Kosher salt – The baseline seasoning that pulls every little thing collectively. Potatoes want it, don’t be shy.

• Freshly floor black pepper – Somewhat spice to chop via the richness and maintain our style buds awake.

• Floor nutmeg – Only a whisper of heat and complexity.

• Dijon Mustard – To go with the gruyere cheese.

• Dried bay leaves – They simmer with the potatoes to infuse the cream with a mild natural depth.

• Contemporary thyme leaves – Woodsy, lemony thyme is the contemporary elevate this dish wants. We combine it into the layers and scatter a bit extra on high earlier than serving for additional attraction.

Scalloped potatoes are usually baked uncooked with a easy cream sauce, however Dauphinoise potatoes take issues a scrumptious step additional. We simmer the sliced potatoes in a heat tub of cream, milk, garlic, and bay leaves first—simply till they’re barely tender. This fast boil infuses each slice with taste and provides the ultimate dish that silky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It’s a bit of  trick that makes all of the distinction.

As soon as the potatoes have had their creamy simmer, it’s time to layer up the goodness. Spoon half of the tender slices right into a buttered baking dish and bathe them with a beneficiant handful of shredded Gruyère—that nutty, melty cheese that makes every little thing really feel just a bit fancy. Add the remainder of the potatoes, extra cheese, after which pour a pair cups of that infused cream combination proper excessive. It ought to simply peek up across the edges, not drown the dish. Into the oven it goes till golden, bubbly, and irresistibly crisp on high. Relying in your oven, the broiler is vital for the browning step!

(With the additional infused cream combination, I made a rapid cheese sauce for pasta!)

When the potatoes emerge from the oven all golden and effervescent, the toughest half is ready—however belief, it’s value it. Let the dish relaxation for at the least quarter-hour so the cream can settle and soak into each layer, providing you with clear slices and most taste. Simply earlier than serving, sprinkle with a couple of contemporary thyme leaves for a pop of colour and that earthy, herby end that makes the entire thing sing.

And there you’ve gotten it—our Nancy Meyers second in potato type. Tacky, creamy, golden and gently fussed-over in precisely the correct methods. If that is what spring tastes like, I’m by no means trying again.

Hold a watch out for these buttermilk hen thighs and that minty celery salad—they’re strolling in subsequent. And when you make these potatoes on your Easter desk (or, let’s be sincere, a random Tuesday evening), go away a remark beneath and let me know the way it all turned out. I’m cheering you on from my kitchen.

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