Day 17. Potato Gratin.

Rosie's Potato Gratin, despite the cayenne, and Spike, and paprika, and nutmeg, had a sophisticated and understated flavor, and I loved.it.  I made myself quit before I polished the whole thing off, in an UN-sophisticated manner.  I followed the recipe fairly closely, but.... I used heavy cream mixed with skim milk in place of the can of evaporated skim milk, and I added salt, something Rosie rarely includes in her recipes. Also, since it was just Swen and I for dinner, I used only 2 potatoes and 1/4 of an onion and finished with the zucchini layer.  But I did not decrease any of the spice, liquid, or zucchini amounts.

I liked it enough to include the recipe.

Potato Gratin, Rosie O'Daley, p 106.

3 medium baking potatoes, thinly slice (I did not peel)
2 T flour
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 t paprika
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I am sure I used at least 4 Tablespoons)
1 small zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t Spike seasoning
12 ounces evaporated skim milk (I used 3/4 C cream and 1/3 C skim milk)
2 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  Coat a 10-inch gratin dish (I used rectangular glass dish, not sure my glass pie plates would be big enough.) or glass pie plate with 3 sprays of vegetable oil..(oh, yeah, I forgot.  I did rub the dish with the cut side of a clove of garlic, something Terry learned to do when she was in France).
  Layer a third of the potatoes over the bottom of the dish, overlapping the slices in a spiral pattern. Over the potatoes, sprinkle 1 T of the flour and arrange the onion rings.  Dust with the cayenne pepper and 1/2 t of the paprika.  Layer another third of the potatoes, adding the remaining T of flour, the black pepper, and 1 T of the Parmesan cheese. Scatter the zucchini, dusting with the nutmeg and Spike seasoning.  Top with a spiral layer of the remaining potatoes.  Pour the evaporated milk over the gratin and add the remaining paprika and Parmesan cheese.
  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes (maybe because I used more liquid, mine took 60 minutes at 400 degrees).  Remove the foil, lower the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for about 15 minutes more, until the top is golden brown.  Remove the gratin from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
 
 Garnish with the chopped parsley.