Bay-Rosemary Potato Gratin
May 2009
"The more you cook with herbs, the more the flavor memories grown with you." -Ron Zimmerman, owner and founding chef of The Herbfarm Restaurant
Makes: 8 servings
Prep: 30 mins
Bake: 45 mins
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 6 inchsprigs rosemary, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2cups half-and-half
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes
- 1/2cup sour cream
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees . In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the half-and-half and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
- Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Discard the rosemary sprigs and bay leaf from the cream mixture and bring to a simmer. Stir in the potatoes, sour cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and the cayenne and cook until the potatoes are slightly softened, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Bake until golden-brown, about 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Tip
- Add herbs to a dish at different stages. Throw some in during the cooking, and add more just before finishing. This way, youll pull out different depths of flavor from the herbs.