Gratin of potatoes with morels and yellow wine

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 people, you will need:

• 1 50 g dried morels
• 2 1 shallot
• 3 1 garlic clove
• 4 30 g butter
• 5 100 ml Jura white wine
• 6 250 ml liquid cream
• 7 100 ml Jura white wine
• 8 1 kg 500 g potatoes
• 9 15 g butter
• 10 salt
• 11 pepper
• Total weight: 2,080 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
2 hours 60 min.	1 hour 1 min.	3 hours 60 min.

Step by step recipe

1	The day before if possible, or at least 2 hours before, soak 50 g dried morels in a little hot water, cover and leave to rehydrate, stirring occasionally.
2	After this time, remove the morels from the soaking water with a spider or skimmer, or by hand if necessary, drain them and place them on a plate. Pour the precious morel soaking juice into a saucepan...
3	...taking care not to pour in with the bottom of the bowl, which contains many impurities (sand, earth, etc.).
4	Reduce the soaking water by about 3/4 over medium heat.
5	Meanwhile, roughly chop the morels.
6	Prepare and finely chop 1 shallot and 1 garlic clove.
7	Place 30 g butter in a hot pan, and when it's frothy add the garlic and shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute without browning.
8	Add the morels and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
9	Pour in 100 ml Jura white wine, stir well and reduce gently...
10	... until the wine has practically disappeared , check the seasoning and set aside off the heat.
11	After 30-40 minutes, the morel juice had reduced by 3/4.
12	Pour into saucepan 250 ml liquid cream, 100 ml Jura white wine, season with salt and pepper and stir well. Reduce by about half again.
13	Meanwhile, peel and wash 1 kg 500 g potatoes.
14	Cut them into slices about 2 mm thick (a mandolin is ideal for this), but don't rewash them, as we want to keep the starch they contain for the creaminess of the future gratin.
15	Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F). Generously butter a baking dish and lightly salt the bottom.
16	Add a layer of half the potatoes and season with a little salt.
17	Pour in the morels, and if there's any liquid left in the pan, pour it in too.
18	Place the rest of the potatoes on top, and it's not essential, but if you have a bit of time, arrange the top in an even, orderly layer, much like the photo.
19	Pour off the reduced morel cream and check the seasoning.
20	Pour the cream over the potatoes...
21	...spread them well.
22	Bake in the oven for approx. 40-50 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a knife blade into the potatoes, which should be quite tender. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, outside the oven but in the dish, before serving.

Remarks

Use soft-fleshed potatoes if possible, as they won't be cooked beforehand like in a potato gratin.
As always with recipes stamped "Vin jaune", you can also use a Jura wine instead, of the Savagnin variety if possible, which is also very good, but much more affordable in terms of price.
As you can never have too much Jura wine, you can add a dash to the gratin just before serving.
Of course, this recipe can also be made with fresh morels, in which case replace the soaking liquid with chicken or vegetable stock.

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