Potato Gratin With Cheese and Bacon

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Updated on 01/4/22
Cheese potato bacon gratin
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Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 90 mins
Total: 110 mins
Servings: 4 servings

This lovely potato gratin is the perfect supper dish, so filling it needs little else served alongside. The gratin requires good waxy potatoes such as Charlotte or Maris Peer and bacon pieces (smoked or not) plus a proper pouring of cream to create an unctuous sauce. For a real success with this dish, you must use a strongly flavored cheese like a Reblochon for the strong taste to stand out.

Take a look at the variations on this dish below the recipe to see just how versatile this dish can be. The perfect supper dish for sure.

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Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 kilograms) waxy potatoes

  • 1 ounce (25 grams) unsalted butter

  • 9 ounces (255 grams) Reblochon cheese, or other strong cheese

  • 6 ounces (175 grams) smoked bacon pieces, or lardons

  • 2 1/2 cups (600 milliliters) heavy cream, or double cream

  • Sea salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 F / 150 C / Gas 2 and grease a 10 x 12-inch (25 x 30-centimeter shallow baking dish with a little of the butter.

  2. Peel and slice the potatoes into thick slices, approximately 1/8-inch (3-millimeters) thick. Place the potatoes in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold, running water. Dry with kitchen paper and season well with salt and pepper (potatoes soak up a lot of salt while cooking, so be generous). Keep to one side.

  3. Cut the cheese into small cubes.

  4. Heat a large frying pan to hot but not burning. Dry fry (fry without any fat) for about 5 minutes until the bacon lardons are crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Place half the potatoes neatly into the dish, sprinkle over the bacon, then top with half the cheese followed by the remaining potatoes.

  5. Pour in enough cream to just cover the potatoes—don't worry if you don't use it all. Dot the surface with the remaining butter.

  6. Bake in the preheated oven until the potatoes are tender when pricked with a knife, about 1 1/4 hours.

  7. Remove the baking dish from the oven, dot the surface with the remaining cheese and return to the oven and cook until bubbling and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 15 minutes covered in foil before serving.

Tips

  • Serve the gratin with pickled onions and gherkins and crisp, fresh, dressed salad. Big chunks of crusty bread are also lovely served alongside.

Recipe Variations

  • Add finely sliced onions between the layers of potato.
  • Add finely sliced, lightly sautéed mushrooms with the potatoes.
  • Shredded spring greens or spinach can be mixed in with the cooked bacon and added to the dish.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1302 Calories
97g Fat
71g Carbs
41g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 1302
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 97g 124%
Saturated Fat 55g 277%
Cholesterol 291mg 97%
Sodium 1370mg 60%
Total Carbohydrate 71g 26%
Dietary Fiber 7g 24%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 41g
Vitamin C 30mg 149%
Calcium 607mg 47%
Iron 4mg 22%
Potassium 2026mg 43%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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