ARTICHOKE, POTATO & SPINACH GRATINE

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 ounces Cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 Heaping TBS of Mayonaise
  • 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped and cut into quarters.
  • 2 cups cooked spinach (thawed if frozen), drained well and chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
  • 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
  • 4 ounces Gouda, sliced and cut into strips
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 3 cloves Fresh Garlic, sliced or chopped
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 12 large Fresh Basil leaves or 2 TBS of Fresh Thyme

Two of My Favorite Cooking Tools!

THE MANDOLIN

A Professional tool that more and more home cooks are discovering, the Mandolin is indispensable for evenly slicing  veggies such as the potatoes in this recipe. Quicker then using a knife, it ensures that the slices are even and therefore will cook more evenly.

KITCHEN SHEARS

I love my Kitchen Shears, I use them all the time. In this recipes I used them to: 
Easily cut the sliced Gouda into strips and I also use the shears to "chop" the spinach after I squeezed it mostly dry and to cut the   Artichoke hearts into quarters.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the Cream cheese, Heavy cream, Mayo, Sour cream, the Spinach , Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder and mix until smooth.
  3. Add 1/3 of each of the Cheeses and combine until smooth and well combined. 
  4. Add Artichokes and fold together. You don't want to completely break apart the 'chokes.
  5. Add the Olive oil to a large saute pan at medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for one or two minutes. Do not burn it, or it will take on a bitter flavor.
  6. In a deep baking dish, spoon down a layer of the garlic olive oil, reserving the garlic pieces. Rotate the container so that the sides are also coated in Olive oil.
  7. Add the sliced potatoes so that the edges overlap slightly. 
  8. Spread a layer of the creamy spinach-artichoke mixture over the potatoes using two small spoons, it doesn't have to be perfect. 
  9. Use only half of the leftover cheese in the layers. Sprinkle on a thin even layer of Gruyere and Parmesan cheese and top with the pieces of Gouda and a few spoons of garlic oil and the garlic pieces. 
  10. Top with another layer of potatoes, making sure the edges overlap slightly.
  11. Repeat with the spinach artichoke mixture and oil until you run out of ingredients.
  12. Arrange the final layer of potatoes on top, then top generously with the garlic oil and top with the rest of the cheese.
  13. Turn the oven up to 400 and bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and top is golden-brown and crisp. If it seems like the top is browning too quickly, cover it with some foil, without touching the cheese. 
  14. Once an inserted fork slides in easily, remove from the oven, top with the Basil or Thyme and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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Use both White and Sweet potatoes for a completely different flavor profile.