Dublin au gratin with Guinness

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 people, you will need:

• 1 1 kg 500 g potatoes
• 2 500 ml milk
• 3 500 ml Guinness
• 4 150 ml liquid cream
• 5 250 g Cheddar cheese
• 6 salt
• Total weight: 2,900 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
40 min.	1 hour 25 min.	2 hours 3 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Peel and wash 1 kg 500 g potatoes, cut into medium-sized slices (a mandolin is ideal for this), then rinse to remove as much starch as possible, and finally drain.
2	In a large saucepan, pour 3 tablespoons of water (to prevent sticking during cooking), then the potatoes, add 500 ml milk, 500 ml Guinness and salt generously. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
3	Remove the potatoes and place in a colander with a spider or skimmer to drain, but keep the cooking liquid in the pan.
4	Pour the cooking liquid (milk + Guinness) into a smaller saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce by about 3/4, whisking or stirring from time to time.
5	Once reduced, add 150 ml liquid cream, stir and bring back to the boil. Add a handful of grated cheddar and stir to melt. The texture should be a little thick and creamy, like Guinness cream. Check the seasoning, then turn off the heat.
6	Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F). Butter a gratin dish and pour in half the potatoes.
7	Pour over half the Guinness cream, then 1/3 grated 250 g Cheddar cheese (Irish if possible).
8	Add the other half of the potatoes, pour over the remaining Guinness cream, then the rest of the grated cheddar.
9	Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C (390°F).
10	Enjoy warm, but not hot.

Remarks

Smoked Irish cheddar is absolutely delicious, and goes very well with this recipe.
If the bitterness of Guinness is too strong for you, opt for a less typical Irish beer, either blonde or brown.
For a quicker version, if you don't have time to reduce the cooking liquid, replace it with a mixture of half cream and half Guinness, which you just boil quickly.

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