Baby artichoke gratin
Aromatic vegetables suspended in a rich sauce, maybe a little melted cheese, all of it hidden under a crisp golden brown crust. Behold the glory that is the gratin.
One of the oldest dishes in the comfort food playbook, the gratin is a celebration of lush creaminess and crisp crust that is often based on the simplest of ingredients. Its poster child, the gratin dauphinois, is made from nothing more than potatoes and cream. Sliced potatoes are layered with cream or milk in a shallow baking dish and baked until the filling is thickened and bubbly and the top of the dish is toasted to a rich brown.
That may be classic, but gratin isn’t a restrictive dish. Such goodness should never be limited.
Almost any food can be gratineed. Focus the gratin on one ingredient (say, asparagus or crab) for a simple side or appetizer dish, or pair ingredients, constructing the gratin to make a perfect one-dish meal. You could even build the gratin around pasta. (Baked macaroni and cheese, anyone?) Take your inspiration from what you might find in the market, or whatever leftovers might be in the fridge.
A versatile dish, the gratin can be refined or rustic, combining just a few ingredients or a complex harmony of flavors. But it’s simple at heart. Perhaps the only restriction is that the final dish have some sort of crust, whether it’s the filling itself that toasts in the oven, or a formal topping that is added, such as bread crumbs or cheese, or maybe nuts. Assemble the gratin in a wide, shallow ovenproof dish so there is enough surface area for the crust to form, and it’s easy going from there.
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Egg-thickened gratin
Not all gratins need an extended baking time before they’re ready. Sometimes a quick trip under the broiler is all that’s necessary.
When based on a sauce thickened with eggs, gratins take on a lighter overall texture, much more free-form in structure. They can be savory or sweet. Custard is a classic, or use a hollandaise or zabaglione. Spoon the sauce over the dish shortly before serving. A minute or two under the broiler is all these sauces need for color and a delicate crust -- any more than that and the sauce could break. Mayonnaise can also work as a filling -- flavor it with herbs, cheese or garlic. (Think of the scallop “dynamite” dish you might order in a sushi bar -- also a kind of gratin, the mayonnaise flavored with fish roe and browned in a toaster oven.)
One trick with egg-based sauces is to lighten them with a little whipped cream. Not only does the whipped cream lighten the texture of the sauce, it also can help stabilize the sauce, lending more structure so it won’t break when it goes under the broiler.
Spoon the sauce over tender blanched vegetables or diced fresh fruit. Ladle it over lettuce or greens. In just a couple of minutes, the finished dish will be ready to serve.
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Flour-thickened gratin
A potato gratin owes its creaminess to the natural starch from the potatoes. Absent a main ingredient with a lot of starch, flour is a great choice as a thickener.
Start with a roux, then build the sauce with cream, broth or another liquid. The only trick with a flour-based sauce is that it will need time to cook so the raw flavor of the flour dissipates. This can be done on the stove or in the gratin dish.
Fully cooked, a flour-based filling has a wonderful depth of flavor, not necessarily “heavy” but certainly with a sense of substance. Counter that savory richness with bright notes to balance the dish: a little vinegar or lemon juice, maybe a bitter leafy green or vegetable, some chopped fresh herbs added toward the end of cooking.
Cheese can also work magic. Gruyere is the classic cheese for gratins, but other options work just as well. Melted into the sauce, a fresh goat cheese or sharp cheddar can brighten the overall dish with its light acidity. Or crumble bits of blue cheese into the dish as the gratin is assembled for baking.
Because they have such substance, flour-based gratins are perfect candidates for one-dish-meals. Combine a few ingredients to build the dish. Take grilled chicken or leftover steak, crumbled Italian sausage or shrimp and pair them with a vegetable or two before assembling. Then top the dish with a little grated cheese or coarse bread crumbs tossed in a little butter and bake away.
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Fresh-cheese gratin
Perhaps the simplest gratin of all is made with little more than a dollop of fresh cheese or ricotta, or a fermented cream in the form of mascarpone, creme fraiche, sour cream and even yogurt.
As with the egg-based sauces, cheese and cream-based fillings will brown quickly under the broiler, taking no more than a minute or two. Watch carefully that the cheese does not overcook and separate. One good trick is to allow the cheese or cream to sit out at room temperature to warm slightly before using so it browns more quickly under the broiler, making it less likely the cheese will break down under extended heat. A little bit of a quick-thickening starch such as cornstarch can also stabilize the gratin.
Flavor the cheese with fresh herbs, maybe a touch of spice. Spoon it over caramelized onions and garlic for a layered dip. Spread it over chorizo and toasted bread crumbs as an appetizer, or gratinee chicken breasts or a grilled pork chop for the main course.
Or sweeten the cheese or cream with a touch of sugar, honey or maple syrup, and add a little lemon or orange zest. Bump up the flavor with a hint of liqueur. Dollop the cheese or cream over fresh-cut fruit or macerated berries and crumbled cookies.
Trim the artichokes: Fill a bowl with a couple of quarts of cold water, and squeeze in the juice of one-half of a lemon . Trim the artichokes one at a time, first snapping off the thick outside leaves, until you reach the tender, pale inner leaves. Trim the tip of the stem, but leave most of it attached to the base of the artichoke. With a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler, shave off the dark skin of the stem, exposing the tender core. Peel around the base of the artichoke too, removing the dark-green spots where the tough leaves were attached. Cut across the leaf tips, removing the top third of the artichoke. Slice the entire artichoke in half lengthwise, splitting the bulb and stem and drop the pieces into the acidulated water.
Bring a medium pot of water to a simmer. While the water is heating, season it well with a few tablespoons of salt. Juice the remaining half of the lemon. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the juice, and pour the remaining juice into the pot of water.
Drain the artichokes, and place them in the simmering water. Simmer the artichokes until tender, 6 to 9 minutes. Drain well. Heat the broiler.
Make a garlic aioli: Using an immersion blender, combine the egg yolks, a pinch each of salt and white pepper, the water, the remaining tablespoon lemon juice and minced garlic cloves in a 2-cup measuring cup or in the tall beaker used for immersion blenders. Stand the immersion blender in the measuring cup, then slowly pour in the oils so they settle on top of the other ingredients. With the blender held against the bottom of the glass, pulse until the mixture begins to emulsify, which will happen almost immediately. Continue to pulse, turning the blender a bit, but keeping it pressed against the bottom of the container. Keep pulsing until most of the mayonnaise is emulsified, less than 1 minute, then slowly plunge the blender a bit to mix thoroughly. Taste the aioli and adjust the seasoning and flavoring with additional salt, pepper and lemon juice as desired. This makes about 1 cup aioli.
Alternatively, to make the aioli using a whisk: In a large bowl whisk together the yolks, a pinch each of salt and white pepper, the water, the remaining tablespoon lemon juice and the minced garlic cloves. Whisking continuously, add the oils in a very, very slow stream until the aioli thickens and all of the oil is incorporated. Taste the aioli and adjust the seasoning and flavoring with additional salt, pepper and lemon juice as desired.
Whip the cream: Beat the cream in a large, chilled bowl using a whisk, or in the bowl of a food processor, until whipped to firm peaks. This makes a generous cup of whipped cream.
In a large bowl using a spatula, gently fold the aioli into the whipped cream to make a mousseline sauce. Gently fold in the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Taste the mousseline sauce and adjust the flavorings and seasonings as desired.
Arrange the drained artichokes in a 1 1/2-quart shallow gratin dish and gently spoon over the mousseline. Place the gratin under the broiler just long enough to lightly brown the top of the sauce, 1 to 3 minutes depending on the broiler.
Remove from heat and serve.
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