Potato and Mushroom Gratin with Cream

Kateryna Bondar
Potato and Mushroom Gratin with CreamPotato and Mushroom Gratin with Cream
Cuisine
Course
Serves 4 people
Prep time
30m
Cook Time
40m

Start with the mushrooms and don’t rush them: 500 g (about a pound) of creminis or oyster mushrooms throw off a lot of liquid, and until it has boiled away in a hot, uncovered pan the filling has no business going into the dish. Water left in the mushrooms soaks the potato shell from within, and instead of clean slices you get a puddle.

That shell does the work of pastry — potatoes boiled in their skins, pressed through a sieve, then enriched with starch, egg, and smetana (thick cultured sour cream; full-fat American sour cream is the closest swap). Two-thirds of the mash lines the dish and builds a rim about 3 cm, an inch and a quarter, tall, and the rest goes on as a lid. The starch grips the moisture, the yolk brushed on top supplies the gloss, and a greased, breadcrumbed dish lets the whole thing come out in one piece.

  • Mash the potatoes while hot — cooled potato turns gluey and stretchy.
  • The nutmeg has a job to do: it mutes the raw-starch taste of the mash so the cream reads.
  • Using sour cream in place of heavy cream? Stir a spoonful of flour into the filling so it doesn’t run.

After 30 to 40 minutes at 180°C (350°F), give it ten minutes out of the oven. Straight off the heat it slumps; slightly cooled, it cuts into neat wedges.

Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 464 more recipes in the section.

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Ingredients

  • For the shell:
  • 8 Pieces
    potatoes
  • 1-2 Tablespoon
    starch
  • 1 Piece
    egg
  • 2-3 Tablespoons
    sour cream
  • 0.5 Teaspoons
    grated nutmeg
  • 3 Tablespoons
    breadcrumbs
  • 1 Piece
    egg yolk
  • salt, to taste
  • For the filling:
  • 500 Grams
    mushrooms
  • 2 Pieces
    onions
  • 0.5 Cups
    heavy cream

Instructions

  1. The base
    Boil the potatoes in their skins, peel them, and press them through a sieve or mash them into a puree.

  2. Add the starch, egg, sour cream, salt, and nutmeg, and mix thoroughly until smooth.

  3. Spread two-thirds of the mixture into a baking dish greased with oil and dusted with breadcrumbs, forming a rim about 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) tall.

  4. Filling and baking
    Slice the mushrooms, cut the onion into half-rings, and fry in oil until the moisture has evaporated.

  5. Season with salt, add chopped herbs, spread the filling into the dish, and pour the cream over the top.

  6. Cover the filling with the remaining potato mixture, smooth it out, and brush with the egg yolk.

  7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 180°C (350°F) until golden. Serve garnished with fresh herbs.

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