Blue Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin
Bleu d’Auvergne Puts a Poignant Twist in Creamy Baked Spuds
This easy recipe elevates everyday au gratin potatoes to a dish you'll be proud to serve to company or take to the next potluck. A bain-marie (water bath) does the trick.
Get beyond bland au gratin potatoes. Blue cheese is the secret ingredient. Bleu d’Auvergne is a great one, but any good blue-veined cheese will serve well. This easy recipe employs a water bath technique that ensures perfect results.
Potatoes Au Gratin with Blue Cheese
You Will Need:
6x9 baking pan plus a larger one with 2” sides for the water bath
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Bleu d’Auvergne, crumbled
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Put some water on to boil. The amount depends on your pans. You’ll need enough to fill the larger baking pan with about an inch of water when the smaller pan is in place.
- Butter the smaller baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cream and cheeses until well blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Both cheeses are usually quite salty, but bare in mind that potatoes absorb a lot of salt.
- Fold the slice potatoes into the cheese mixture. Spread the result into the buttered pat. Cover with plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil.
- Place the pan with the potatoes in the larger pan and set it on the oven shelf. Carefully pour hot water into the outer pan so that the water is about an inch deep. Bake one hour.
- Remove the cover and bake until the top is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Yield: 6 side-dish servings
About Bain-Marie
The technique used in this recipe is a baked bain-marie. A double boiler is the other primary bain-marie method. Both are extremely useful in a variety of recipes. The physics behind it is simple: water boils at 212F. Above that and it escapes as steam. The dish in contact with the water stays at a consisted temperature. Not so much in this recipe since it is covered, but the steam is also useful for keeping a hard skin from forming on custards and cheesecakes before the interior is cooked.
The method originated with ancient alchemists who needed gentle heating to imitate what they supposed to be the process the earth uses to create precious metals. “Bain-marie” is named for “Mary the Jewess” an alchemist whom some equate with either Mary Magdalene or Miriam the sister of Moses.
About Bleu d’Auvergne
The Auvergne region of southern France produces more AOC-designated cheeses than any other French region. You are what you eat, and that’s true if you’re a cow, too. From May to October, the dark chestnut-colored cows of Auvergne munch on the wild grasses, herbs and wildflowers that sprout between the rocks of this rugged volcanic region.
In 1845, Antoine Roussel either tried to copy the highly prized (and priced) Roquefort from neighboring Aveyron –or- accidentally discovered blue mold growing on the cheese he had made. Today, AOC rules require a minimum of four weeks aging for Bleu d’Auvergne, producing a creamy texture and a flavor that is spicy without being sharp or biting.
For some other blue cheese, check out Roquefort-Gorgonzola Alternatives. You may be surprised where they come from.
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