Mastering the Art of French Cooking | Julia Child

Recipe 160

- Gratin Aux Fruits De Mer [Gratin of Creamed Salmon or Other Fish], p. 156

You can buy Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking which contains this recipe here.

You can watch me make this recipe for the first time on my YouTube channel here.

Butter Count: +4 TB

Cost: $5.20 [~$1.04 per serving]

Here we wrap up yet another section of the book- gratins! There were a total of four gratins in the cookbook, and I enjoyed them quite a bit. I'll even go against the majority of people and say that I enjoyed them more than the quiches. One gratin really won my heart over though- Gratin of Shredded Potatoes with Ham and Eggs and Onions. I still think about it frequently.

LAURA'S RATING: 6

BRIAN'S RATING: 6

This gratin of creamed salmon was between a 6 and a 7 for me. I grew up eating salmon croquettes so the first taste of the canned salmon was so nostolgic and took me right back to my childhood. I thought it tasted really good, but it was nothing special. The reason why it almost made it to a 7 is because I served it with a potato hash. After eating a couple bites of it on its own, I mixed the potatoes in with it, and that really elevated the flavor. Would I throw potatoes into this gratin if I ever made it again? Absolutely. Oh, and add more cheese. Always add more cheese.

COOKING PROCESS:

As with so many of Julia's recipes, our first step will be cooking onions in butter until tender. A little bit of flour is stirred in and cooked for a couple more minutes. Boiling milk is then beaten in and dry white vermouth, the juice from the can of salmon, salt, pepper, and oregano are added. Whipping cream is added by the tablespoon in an attempt to thin out the mixture.

Okay, I think my can of salmon had why more juice than what Julia anticipated. I believe my gratin came out runnier than what it was supposed to. Though I do wish it had been thicker, it did make it great for mixing with those delicious potatoes.

Next, the salmon is added. So Julia mentions two optional ingredients. First, sautéed mushrooms. I think mushrooms would be excellent in this dish, and I fully intended on adding them. Buuut my fungi had become extrememly slimy. Don't you hate that? Second, hard-boiled eggs. I love hard-boiled eggs, but I couldn't picture them in this salmon gratin at all. Have you tried hard-boiled eggs in something like this? If so, definitely let me know how it taste.

Now you can bake this gratin in a baking dish or a cooked pastry shell. I believe a pastry shell would be delicious, but I was running out of time on the day I made this and opted for a baking dish instead. I used the lid of my cast iron, and it worked great.

Lastly, top it with some Swiss cheese and dots of butter, bake for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees, and enjoy!

You can find these recipes and all the other Julia Child recipes I make in Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Bon appétit!

January 11, 2021 by Laura Ehlers