Potatoes au gratin and dauphinoise are two dishes that are loved for their potato base and creamy sauce, but there is one big difference between the two.
Gratin uses pre-boiled (usually boiled) potato slices cooked in cream and topped with cheese, while dauphinoise is made from thinly sliced (not pre-boiled) potatoes that are cooked in cream.
Lovers of richer foods may prefer the gratin for its thick cream and cheesy filling, which is exactly what you’d expect from Mary Berry’s delicious vegetable gratin.
Sharing the recipe from her BBC show Mary Berry Saves Christmas, the talented chef described the dish as “rich, creamy, colorful and bursting with flavour”.
Although intended for parties, Mary’s gratin is a dish that can be enjoyed any day of the week, for example with a roast dinner.
Vegetable gratin recipe
Ingredients
Butter, for greasing and frying
Four banana shallots, thinly sliced lengthwise
350 g / 12 oz carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
850g/1lb 14oz potatoes (such as Maris Piper, Rooster or King Edward), peeled
450 ml / 16 fl oz vegetable broth
300ml/½ pint double cream
75g/2½oz parmesan (or equivalent hard veggie cheese), grated
One tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Method
To start, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6, then grease a 1.7-2 litre/3-3½ pint wide baking dish.
Take a frying pan to medium heat and melt a knob of butter in it. Add the chopped shallot and fry until soft (about five minutes).
Add the chopped carrots and toss with the shallots for 30 seconds, then spoon the contents of the pan into the greased tin.
Season generously with salt and pepper and add the rest of the ingredients to the dish, starting with a third of the broth and a third of the cream.
Place half of the potatoes on top of the carrots and shallots and pour over the other third of the stock and cream.
Push the vegetables down into the liquid and place the rest of the potatoes in neat overlapping rows on top.
Season more with salt and pepper and pour the rest of the stock and cream on top. Press everything down and sprinkle with cheese before covering the dish with foil.
Bake the gratin in a hot oven for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft on the edges of the baking dish. Remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked and the surface is golden brown.
Serve fresh from the oven and garnish with parsley.
