It’s not always about the main dish: the accompanying dishes can be just as important and even much tastier.
Potato gratin (the Italian derivation) is one of my favorites and I use it in its supporting role as often as I can. While gratin has its origins in France, the northern Italian variation makes good use of garlic, olive oil, Parmesan and sage, making this a tasty concoction.
There are a lot of variations of gratin out there, but I have settled on this variation; the sage makes all the difference.
Ingredients: (6-8 side portions)
- 1 kg yellow potatoes, peeled and sliced thick lengthwise
- 250 ml cream
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 15-20 leaves of sage leaves
- A good handful of grated Parmesan
- Coarse salt and pepper
Method:
Peel and slice potatoes lengthwise – about two centimeters thick. Mix together in a bowl cream, olive oil, garlic and sage leaves and add a good pinch of coarse salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes in the mixture ensuring all are well coated. Transfer to a baking pan, arranging them evenly and ensuring the sliced garlic and sage leaves are evenly spread across the coated potatoes in the pan.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in a preheated 180°C oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, take off the foil and sprinkle the freshly grated Parmesan evenly over the top of the potatoes, return to oven uncovered for another 20 minutes at the same temperature to brown and crisp. Remove and serve as a side that will definitely compete with your main.
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