Poor Man's Potato Gratin: No Cream, €1 per serving

The "poor man's" potato gratin is made without cream: potato slices, sautéed onions and garlic, moistened with milk and a little broth, then baked au gratin with leftover cheese. For 4 people, it costs about €4, or around one euro per serving.

It's not exactly the life of the party, but served piping hot straight from the oven on the pergola table one November evening, it feels like a feast.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1.2 kg of floury or all-purpose potatoes (Bintje, Monalisa)
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 50 cl of semi-skimmed milk
• 20 cl of vegetable broth (1/2 cube)
• 20 g butter or 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 60 to 80 g of leftover grated cheese (Emmental, Comté, Tomme, etc.)
• 1 sprig of thyme, 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper

For 2 people, use 600 g of potatoes, 1 onion, 25 cl of milk, 10 cl of broth, and 40 g of cheese in a 20-cm dish: reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

Preparation: 20 min · Cooking: 55 min · Rest: 10 min

The Step-by-Step Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3-mm-thick rounds without rinsing them: their starch will thicken the milk and replace the cream.
2. Slice the onions and sauté them in butter over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are tender and golden brown.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, milk, broth, a crushed clove of garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add nutmeg and pepper, and salt sparingly, since the broth is already salty.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes over low heat, stirring gently with a spatula to prevent the milk from sticking. The liquid will thicken slightly.
5. Rub a 20 × 30 cm gratin dish with the second clove of garlic, cut in half. Remove the thyme and bay leaf, pour in half the potatoes, spread the onions on top, cover with the rest of the potatoes, and pour the cooking liquid over everything.
6. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the tip of a knife slides in easily.
7. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving: this allows the gratin to set and the sauce to thicken completely.

My Cooking Tips

• No cheese? Mix 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon of olive oil for a golden, crispy crust.
• Got a piece of Parmesan rind lying around? Let it steep in the milk while it's preheating, then remove it: all the flavor, zero waste.
• Southern-style version: Top with 2 tomatoes sliced into thin rounds and a drizzle of olive oil—it’s not far off from a tian.
• For a complete meal, sauté 100 g of bacon bits with the onions.

Under the pergola: how to serve

Served with a green salad with walnuts, this gratin makes a complete meal. It also pairs well with grilled sausages, roast chicken, or fried eggs on busy evenings. As for drinks, a rosé from Provence or a white wine from Cassis—in moderation: come on, we’re not going to deprive ourselves of everything either.

To serve, pre-cook and assemble the dish in the morning, cover it with plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator. Place it in the oven 1 hour before the meal: once taken out of the refrigerator, it will take 50 to 55 minutes to cook. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.

Your Questions

Do you need to cook the potatoes before making a gratin?

It's not required, but precooking for 10 minutes in milk makes all the difference: the gratin cooks faster and more evenly, and the released starch thickens the liquid. Without pre-cooking, allow 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes in the oven at 180 °C.

What can I use instead of crème fraîche in a gratin?

With milk, possibly mixed with broth, as shown here. You can also thicken it with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with water or add 2 tablespoons of cream cheese at the end of the pre-cooking process. Broth alone works just as well: that’s the basic idea behind Savoyard gratin.

What's the recipe for a quick potato gratin?

Pre-cook the slices for 10 minutes in milk, then spread them out in a wide, shallow baking dish: they’ll be golden brown in 25 to 30 minutes at 200 °C. The thinner the layer, the faster they’ll cook.

What's Grandma's recipe for potato gratin?

Every family has its own version, but it often looked something like this: milk instead of cream, an onion, a clove of garlic, and the leftover piece of cheese from the cupboard. The secret is slow cooking, which makes the potatoes melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Which potatoes should you choose for a gratin?

Varieties with a floury or all-purpose texture, such as Bintje or Monalisa, release their starch and produce a creamy gratin. Firm-textured varieties hold their shape better, but the result is less creamy.