Chef Gordon Hamersley of
Hamersley’s Bistro
– Boston, MA
Adapted by StarChefs.com
From
Bistro
Cooking at Home by Gordon Hamersley (Broadway Books)
This is the creamy gratin. We serve it with all
kinds of roasts at the restaurant. As with most creamy dishes,
it needs a lot of seasoning, so be generous with the salt and
pepper. If you’d like to make the gratin ahead by a couple
of hours, just let it sit at room temperature and reheat it at
350° F, adding a little cream if necessary.
Yield: 6 Servings
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large or 3 medium leeks, roots and dark green leaves cut
off, white and light
green parts thinly sliced, washed well, and patted dry
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Melt the butter in a large sauté
pan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, garlic, and thyme, and
season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally,
until the leeks are tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the cream and
bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the cream
and leeks bubble for an additional 3 minutes. Season the cream
with more salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and add the potato
slices to the leeks, tossing them gently but thoroughly to combine.
Layer half of the potato-leek mixture into a 1½-quart
gratin dish and sprinkle half of the Gruyère cheese over
the mixture. Add the rest of the potatoes and leeks to the dish
and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until the potatoes are
very tender and the cheese has melted and turned golden brown,
45 minutes to 1 hour.
To Serve:
Let the gratin sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Or
let it sit for a couple of hours and then reheat it to serve.
