Potato Gratins with White Truffle Cream

To say that I am a fan of truffles and anything with the flavor of truffles would be an understatement. Kurt suggested I would probably like dog food if it had some shaved truffles on top or truffle oil drizzled over it or truffle cream stirred into it. Of course, he’s ridiculous, but I admit to swooning at the mere aroma of truffle products. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to sample a truffle cream product from la Boutique de la truffe. They sent me a jar of La Tartufata white truffle cream which contains white truffles and porcini mushrooms made into a smooth, spreadable cream with olive oil and wine vinegar. My first instinct was to sit down with the jar and a spoon, but that seemed a little simplistic. Using it with pasta with mushrooms would have been a delicious way to go, but then I thought about how well earthy potatoes combine with the flavor of truffles.

This was a straightforward kind of dish because I really just wanted to taste the truffle cream with a background of potatoes. I buttered some small ramekins and placed one layer of thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of each and seasoned that layer. Then, I spread some truffle cream on top and repeated the layers. I poured a little cream into each ramekin until it came about half way up the side of each and topped each with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. They baked on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes.


The flavor was just outstanding. I could have eaten these potatoes forever. The silky texture of the truffle cream layered between the tender, thin potato slices enriched with the cream and butter was beyond all expectations for a simple Sunday night dinner. Everything else on the plate, from the roasted baby beets to the rosemary chicken, was delicious too, but it all faded away once I tasted this potato gratin. I haven’t tried any other products found on the la Boutique de la truffe web site, but I can highly recommend La Tartufata.




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Slow Food Feast in the Field and the Butternut Squash Gratin

A week ago, we attended the Slow Food Feast in the Field benefiting the Austin Discovery School. (In the interest of full disclosure, I won my ticket as a giveaway from the always awesome Addie Broyles, but we purchased Kurt’s ticket.) The feast was held at Green Gate Farm which is a short, ten minute drive from downtown Austin, but it was a quiet, peaceful place outside of the city’s hubbub. It was a clear, cool, fall night, and the barn sat in the shadows behind the buffet table of salad, bruschetta, and pickled persimmons. Servers passed trays of duck confit canapes and shot glasses of pureed butternut squash soup, and wine was served from a table under a big tree. The dining tables were set between planted fields and were softly illuminated by strings of lights. Hence, my photos were of poor quality, but I snapped away just the same. There was even a small trailer from which espresso was served next to the greenhouse. The meal was prepared by Chef Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine, and the entire menu was crafted from local vegetables, meats, and wines and much of that local fare came from Green Gate Farm.


Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Milk Creme Fraiche.
Duck Confit. Asian Pear Compote.
Paired with Fall Creek Estate Pinot Grigio.

Local Greens Salad Bar with Green Garlic Goddess Dressing.
Build Your Own Bruschetta: Eggplant Caviar. Mushroom Caponata. Local Cheese. Pickled persimmons.
Paired with Fall Creek Estate Pinot Blanc.

Smoky Pork Loin. Blackberry Lavender Reduction. Local Greenery. Butternut Squash Gratin with Caramelized Onion, Walnut, and Veldhuizen Gruyere.
Paired with Fall Creek Estate Super Texan.

Mary Louise Butter's Brownies with Amy’s Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream.
Paired with Fall Creek Estate Port.

I requested a vegetarian main course, so I enjoyed a stuffed poblano pepper with black beans, corn, avocado, and chipotle lime tofu instead of the smoky pork. The meal was very well prepared and nicely served, and the warm brownie with Amy’s always-perfect ice cream for dessert was simple but delicious. The port with its hint of honey was well-matched with chocolate.

The one item from the meal that really caught our attention was the butternut squash gratin. Kurt and I, and everyone else at our table, couldn’t stop going on about it. The tender layers of squash with flavors of walnuts and caramelized onions and the lovely crispy topping had us all praising it. The next day, I contacted Ecstatic Cuisine to ask if they’d be willing to share the recipe for that incredible gratin, and Ian LeClair, the sous chef, was happy to do so. He told me the squash they used was from Green Gate Farm, the cream was from a local source, and the Veldhuizen Gruyere is made in Dublin, Texas. I haven’t made this myself yet, but I think this could easily make its way onto a holiday menu this year:

Ian’s Butternut Squash Gratin
from Ecstatic Cuisine
1 large or 2 medium butternut squash
4 cups thinly sliced yellow or white onions
2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried nutmeg
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2-3 cups heavy cream
1 cup grated gruyere
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I prefer Panko)
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

In a large saute pan, heat the oil and half the butter. Add the onions and the thyme and cook until the onions are caramelized and reduced to about 1 cup.
While the onions are cooking, peel the squash and cut off the large butt end with the seeds. Thinly slice the neck part into rounds. (Ian uses a mandoline to get nice thin slices.)
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Toss the squash slices in this flour mixture to coat.
Grease a 9x13 baking dish with the rest of the butter.
Arrange half the squash slices in an overlapping pattern to form a layer in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread half the onions on top. Form another layer with the rest of the squash and then top with the other half of the onions.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top and then pour the cream over the whole dish. The cream should almost come up to cover the layers.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the squash has mostly softened. Remove from oven and remove foil.
Mix the breadcrumbs and nuts and spread over the top of the gratin.
Return to oven and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until topping is golden and crispy and squash is fully cooked.

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Eggplant Gratin

UPDATE 15 OCTOBER 2011:
This is such a great eggplant dish, I wanted to update the photos from the original post. The following text is in its original form, but the photos have been replaced.

For my week of French food, I chose one meal from Ina’s Barefoot in Paris. This is easy French food, as the subtitle rightly claims. Eggplant gratin was Ina’s husband’s favorite meal the first time they visited Paris. I can see why. I had an eggplant from my CSA, and in this richly flavored gratin, it made quite a meal. I also served Ina’s green salad vinaigrette and some toasted sourdough baguette with the gratin. The only problem with this meal was that it ended up happening one day later than planned. While prepping the parts of the gratin, I pre-heated my oven or thought I did. Just when I was ready to pop the dish into it, I noticed that it had pre-heated to nothing. This is the same oven that had just baked baguettes the day before, and it sat there, literally giving me the cold shoulder, mocking my dinner-making efforts. Into the refrigerator went the gratin. A pasta meal was prepared instead, and the next morning I set about finding an oven repair person. Unbelievably, I found a repair service that came an hour and a half after being called, fixed the oven quickly, and charged exactly what was quoted. I had forgotten what it’s like to receive such good service.

With the oven back in working order, the gratin was baked at last. It’s really a simple dish. You do have to fry the eggplant slices before layering them into the dish, but that’s the most difficult part of the preparation. The recipe suggests using a store-bought tomato sauce, but I had some left-over, homemade sauce in my freezer. That was thawed and poured over the fried eggplant slices in a baking dish, a second layer of eggplant was added, and a mixture of ricotta, eggs, half and half, and parmigiano reggiano was spread on top. These were supposed to have been individual gratins in separate dishes, but I used one larger baking dish instead. A little extra parmigiano was applied, and it was placed in the once again fully functioning oven.

This is similar to eggplant parmesan, but the ricotta mixture puffed into a nice, custard-like layer making it a slightly different dish. I could see making a larger version of this with several other vegetables included as well, but it was an excellent way to highlight eggplant. The tomato sauce and the cheese mixture were delicious together, and the humble eggplant was made into something really special. With the salad and bread, it was a great meal. I can also highly recommend the green salad vinaigrette made with an egg yolk. Because of my oven issue, I learned that the gratin can be made in advance and baked when you’re ready. Good to know. This was another successful meal from Ina, and clearly Jeffrey has very good taste.

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