Combining the very best of a creamy gratin with all the crispy edges of a hasselback potato creates this epic mash-up: the hasselback gratin!
Think all the creamy and cheesy decadence of a classic gratin but with a lot more crispy edges.
The radical innovation, from acclaimed food science writer J. Kenji López-Alt, is standing the potatoes up vertically! The potatoes are aligned vertically, on their edges, rather than layering them horizontally, as in a standard gratin.
It’s garlicky, cheesy, crispy-on-top, creamy-in-the-middle casserole that can also be made with other root veggies as well such beets, parsnips, radishes, and carrots.
Why this Recipe Works
- Best of both the crispy hasselback and creamy gratin world. This glorious mash-up delivers all the creamy and cheesy decadence of a classic gratin but with a lot more crispy edges.
- Tossing the potatoes with the cheesy cream mixture before baking. Guarantees an even distribution in the baking dish and helps the potatoes reach their perfect texture.
- Standing the potatoes up vertically! Maximizes surface area to create more opportunity for a crispy crunchy exterior.
- Roasting covered with foil followed by uncovered! Roasting covered traps the potatoes moisture, so they steam and become tender and then roasting uncovered crisps up their edges!
It’s the ultimate luxuriously decadent comfort food! Cheese, cream, potatoes, garlic, shallots… need I really say any more?
What is a Hasselback Potato?
A hasselback potato is a type of roasted potato where the potatoes are cut in thin, parallel slices, almost all the way through so that that potato remains intact at the bottom and roasted until the layers fan out.
What is a Potato Gratin?
A potato gratin is a casserole of potatoes dish where thin slices of potatoes are stacked horizontally in layers, covered with cream, sprinkled with cheese and roasted in the oven.
Root Veggie Hasselback Gratin
pink & purple root veggie's only hasselback gratin
How to Make this Hasselback Potato Gratin
Thinly slice potatoes/root veggies. And mandolin or a food processor will be helpful (and quicker) but a sharp knife works as well. Whisk together creamy, cheese-y goodness mixture.
Toss potatoes/root veggies with cream mixture and arrange them vertically, aligning their edges, in an oven-proof dish. This will be messy and no edge alignment perfection is necessary.
Bake covered followed by uncovered, basting the potatoes with the excess cream mixture.
Ingredients
Potatoes: russet/ high starch potatoes work best.
Root Veggies: such as beets, radishes, carrots and parsnips can also work.
Note: if using a mix of potatoes and root veggies, keep cooking times in mind. You’ll want you’ your slices per casserole to have very similar cooking times.
Cheese: the recipes uses a combo of both Gruyere/Comte and Parmesan. If you have other little bits of cheese that you’ve been neglected in your fridge, grate it up and add it too.
Cream/Butter: if vegan, the cream and butter can be swapped in with their non-dairy counterparts.
Garlic/Shallots: these alliums add flavor. Possible to swap allium varieties, use only one kind or omit altogether (not recommended). For example, using a minced onion instead of garlic + shallots will not ruin this dish!).
Fresh Thyme: Can be swapped for dried thyme if need be. And/or experiment with other herbs such as rosemary and oregano.
Cooks Tips
- If you own a mandolin, now is the time to use it! Otherwise a sharp knife works too.
- For best results, be sure that every single potato slice gets coated on all sides with the cream mixture before stacking vertically.
- Buy extra potatoes. They come in all different shapes and sizes and the exact amount necessary to fit snugly in a baking dish varies.
- For easing cleaning, place baking dish on top a baking sheet in the oven to catch any creamy mixture that may drip and spill over.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and share it on Instagram with the tag @DanielaGerson! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!
Let’s make waves in the kitchen!
Stoked on colorful potatoes? Check out this All things Purple Potatoes Post!
Hasselback Potato Gratin
Ingredients
- 5 ounces finely grated Gruyère or Comté cheese
- 3 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 4 medium cloves garlic minced (the garlic-shallot ratio is flexi, just be sure to add lots of garlic or shallots or a combo)
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves roughly chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 1/2 - 4 pounds russet potatoes or another potato or root veggie variety; peeled and very thinly sliced on a mandolin.
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine cheeses in a large bowl. Transfer 1/3 of cheese mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add cream, garlic, shallots, and thyme to cheese mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add potato slices and toss with hands, making sure to get this creamy goodness all over ever single slice of thin potatoes. Yes every single one. It is worth it!
- Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter. Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in the casserole dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in casserole, working around the perimeter and into the center until all potatoes have been added. Potatoes need to be very tightly packed, which means I often sneak more in once the casserole is full, sticking them in between any slices I can. Pour some of the excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over potatoes, until the mixture comes half way up the sides of the casserole. Reserve the excess cream mixture.
- Cover tightly with foil and transfer to oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, pour any excess cream mixture over the potatoes and continue baking, uncovered, until the top is a pale golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese and continue baking until the top is a deep golden brown and edges are starting to crisp, about another 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve.
Notes
- If you own a mandolin, now is the time to use it! Otherwise a sharp knife works too.
- For best results, be sure that every single potato slice gets coated on all sides with the cream mixture before stacking vertically.
- Buy extra potatoes. They come in all different shapes and sizes and the exact amount necessary to fit snugly in a baking dish varies.
- For easing cleaning, place baking dish on top a baking sheet in the oven to catch any creamy mixture that may drip and spill over.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
What a perfect DELICIOUS and BEAUTIFUL dish to celebrate Thanksgiving!!!
Thanks Daniela fir sharing this GORGEOUS recipe 🙏🙏
Absolute pleasure Jacqueline ~ you are too cute for words! Can't get enough of this dish this time of year! It was such a pleasure to make this for ya last week :). Xxx.
Is there a way to par-bake this dish, the night before, refrigerate, and finish then next day?
Hi Joe - yep there's lot's of options! You can fully bake it the day before and then simply re-heat the dish before serving, or bake just the first hour the day before and sprinkle the remaining cheese and bake the last 30 minutes before serving or arrange the entire gratin the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator and do all the baking the next day. So stoked to hear you're making this + please let me know how it goes :)!