OMG 5-Minute Individual Potato Gratin

As soon as I took the first bite of this 5-Minute Individual Potato Gratin, I immediately thought of my Mom.  She’s a big fan of gratins, as am I, and I know she will love these.  The recipe comes from Melissa D’Arabian, the newest addition to Food Network‘s line-up (you can read more about her here), and when she was making this, she mentioned that her little girls love helping her make it.  After you get the chopping out of the way, it’s a great recipe to get help from the little hands in your house, since the rest of it is layer, layer, layer.

With just a bit of chopping and layering, the recipe is very easy prep-wise, and once all the ingredients are layered in the muffin tin, it peacefully does its thing in the oven for 35-40 minutes.  Once you have it in the oven, it’s the perfect time to begin working on your main course … I made a Chicken Fried Steak recipe for dinner, and by the time the steak was done, so were the potatoes, perfect timing.

The individual nature of the dish makes it a great little side for your next grown-up soiree, but the ease of the recipe makes it perfect for a hectic weeknight as well.  And, of course, if your kids will eat this sort of thing, all the better.  Nick said he would “force” himself to try it and managed to make it through one whole individual gratin, so I’ll take that as a personal victory.  I took one gratin apart and gave Madeline the potato pieces, so it worked well for the toddler set too.

As for me?

With the tender potato bites studded by bits of cheese and overall creaminess, it was a swoon from the first bite.   The recipe is very flexible too, as I swapped out several ingredients to use what I hand on hand (cippolini onions went in for the scallions and Fontina for the Swiss), and it was still excellent.  I guarantee this one will be hitting my table again and again, and it will be just perfect for an upcoming Fall-themed Moms Night In gathering next month.  Total yum.

5-Minute Individual Potato Gratins
Recipe courtesy of Melissa D’Arabian

• Vegetable spray
• 2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

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