Potato, Corn and Kraut Gratin
This Potato, Corn and Kraut Gratin is a new version of old family dishes. It has three basic dishes - Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Corn, and Sauerkraut - combined into one wonderfully savory dish and all dressed up for your holiday table!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Russet potatoes – peeled cubed, and rinsed
- 6 tablespoons butter + 2 Tablespoons – at room temp divided
- 32 ounces Frank’s Kraut , drained - 1/3 cup reserved
- 14 ounces fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed - 1/3 cup reserved
- ½ cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon salt + more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper optional
Instructions
For the Potatoes
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Prepare mashed potatoes your favorite way. Otherwise, this is how I make them.
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Fill a large pot approximately half way with cold water. Scrub and peel potatoes, cut into 1” cubes, and put cubes into the pot of cold water. When all the potatoes are cubed and in the water, swish them around and pour out the cloudy water. Replace with fresh water, and repeat 4 – 5 times until water is mostly clear. Then add enough fresh water to cover the potatoes and add a tablespoon of salt. Place pot over medium-high flame, and boil until potato cubes are tender. Drain, add 6 tablespoons of butter to the hot potatoes, and mash until mostly smooth. Cover and keep warm.
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Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. (See note below.)
For the Panko breadcrumbs
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In a small sauce pan, add 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Allow butter to brown slightly. Add garlic powder a pinch of salt & pepper to taste (optional), and stir well. Add breadcrumbs and stir, making sure the butter is completely incorporated into the crumbs. Continue to toast the crumbs over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from flame and set aside.
For the Kraut Gratin
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To the pot with the mashed potatoes, add (thawed) corn and (drained) kraut. Stir well to combine. Spoon mixture into an oven-safe, covered casserole dish. Layer the shredded cheeses and reserved corn and kraut over the top. Top liberally with the toasted bread crumbs, and place into heated oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese is nicely melted. Cover casserole dish to keep kraut gratin warm in oven until serving.
Recipe Notes
The purpose of the lower 250 degree F "holding temp" is just to keep the dish warm and melt the cheeses and toppings together. If you make this Kraut Gratin ahead and need to completely re-heat it, then you’ll want to increase the oven temp to 350F and bake (covered) until everything is heated through.
If baking the gratin in the same casserole dish that was stored in the refrigerator, let it sit out at room temp for at least 30 minutes or so to allow the dish to warm up a bit before placing it in the oven.