RCP: The best and easiest Potato Gratin

[Ryan M]

This recipe (out of the Junior League of Wichita's cookbook "Women of Great Taste," which I highly, highly recommend) is the best, most satisfying, and the easiest Potato Gratin I have encountered. Only downside is cost of ingredients, but that's mostly with respect to my humble grad-student budget. Anyway, this is a fail-proof, fabulous recipe.

Potato Gratin with Boursin
3 lbs (1.36 kg) red-skinned potatos, thinly sliced (peels on)
5 oz (150 g) package Boursin "Garlic and Fine Herbs" cheese
2 cups (473 ml) heavy whipping cream
salt, pepper, chopped parsley

Beat together Boursin and cream in food processor until smooth. Layer half of potatos in 9 x 13 in. pan, season with salt and pepper (to taste), pour on half of cheese mixture. Repeat. Bake 400 F for 1 hour. Top with chopped parsley.

[Alan Wolfe]

I'm gonna' try that soon!

[Daniel Rogov]

Ryan, Hi.....


Sounds lovely as is but when you get beyond the doctoral level of your studies, and have graduate slaves of your own forget the parsley and over the gratin grate some fresh truffles. Knowing your religious leanings, you might be interested to know that a quite similar dish was one of the favorites of Pope John Paul II. If that caused any controversy whatever, it was only in that John Paul scorned the Piedmont white truffles for the black truffles of Perigord.

Best
Rogov

[Ryan M]

Hello Rogov,

Sounds good, but sadly I can't even imagine what it would be like, having never encountered truffles in any context. If I do ever get to the point that I can afford such a thing, then I'll be sure to serve it with no less than Krug NV. Only question is, Perigord or Alba?

Changing direction, which type of truffle do you prefer?

[Daniel Rogov]

.... which type of truffle do you prefer?

Ryan, Hi.....

I cannot help but think that when God created black Perigord and white Piedmont truffles, She created them equally, but each for its own purpose. As to my preferences - Perigord truffles for potato puree, Piedmont for risotto, Perigord for scrambled eggs and omelets, Piedmont with langoustines and lobster bisque, Perigord with pumpkin souffles, Piedmont for fritatta.

For many years in both Italy and France, truffles were "snuffled" (hunted by nose) primarily by pigs. In more recent years it seems that beagles have a special nose for black truffles. As much as I admire the pig (one of the most intelligent of land-based mammals, easily house-broken as a pet and, of course the supplier of bacon), I am completely in love with beagles. Thus, perhaps a leaning on my side towards Perigord where those lovely dogs, mostly bred in North Carolina and Tennessee, have become indispensable to civilized truffle hunting.

As a possible point of interest, white truffles are also to be found in Israel's Negev Dessert. Alas, those truffles are poor, rather soggy third cousins to the true Piedmont truffle.



Best
Rogov

[Stuart Yaniger]

I segment it differently- bianchi for dishes where the truffles are not cooked, but just shaved over the completed dish, and noir for dishes where the truffles undergo some cooking. Shaved white truffles over an omelette, chopped black truffles cooked in a fritatta (just to pull an ethnic switcheroo).

The single greatest dish I have ever eaten is a fonduta Albese (my friends call it "The Egg Dish") with shaved white truffles.