Simple Scalloped Potatoes ♥ Recipe


Hello again, veggie lovers! It's November and at A Veggie Venture, that means it's time to go crazy for the real stars on the Thanksgiving table, the vegetables! I've been collecting especially-for-Thanksgiving vegetable recipes since 2006. After A Veggie Venture readers voted for their top Thanksgiving vegetables, I collected all those recipes in one convenient place, Favorite Recipes for Thanksgiving's Favorite Vegetables. In 2014, I decided to learn how to cook potatoes really, really well and oh man! these recipes are worth checking out! Today? Simple-simple scalloped potatoes, just five ingredients!
And so this exploration of the lowly potato continues. By rights, 2014 will go down as the Year of the Potato here at A Veggie Venture, going way back to Midsummer when we ate our weight in new potatoes during a long holiday in Finland, Estonia and Sweden. Remember Finnish Summer Potato Salad? Yeah, my ode to Finnish Potatoes.
But until now, I've yet to master a really good scalloped potato, what the French call Potatoes Lyonnaise or a "potato gratin" – and while it's possible, even typical, to go all out out and cheesy with scalloped potatoes, here I wanted something extraordinary and yet extraordinarily simple. These potatoes are, indeed, all about the potatoes, in my dish, sixteen thin-thin layers of russet potatoes enriched with just enough cream to hold them together. They are dramatic on the table and cut into tight squares.
Simple yes but also extraordinary.
RECIPE for SIMPLE SCALLOPED POTATOES
Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 1-3/4 hours
Fills a 10x7 (or similar) baking dish about an inch thick, enough to serve 12 for a "regular meal" or as many as 24 at a big, multi-course meal like Thanksgiving
Time to table: 1-3/4 hours
Fills a 10x7 (or similar) baking dish about an inch thick, enough to serve 12 for a "regular meal" or as many as 24 at a big, multi-course meal like Thanksgiving
1 tablespoon soft salted butter, for the baking dish
1 cup (227g) heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 large russet baking potatoes, about 2-1/2 pounds (1134g)
1 tablespoon butter, in tiny cubes, for the top
Set oven to 450F/230C. Butter the bottom of an oven-safe 10x7 or similar-size baking dish and up the sides by an inch. In a bowl, mix the cream, garlic and salt. Scrub the potatoes really well.
One at a time, use a mandoline to slice the potatoes about 1/16-inch thick, that's thick enough for the slices to hold together, not so thin you can see through them. Before starting, it helps to cut a small slice off one end, creating a flat surface for the mandoline blade. Layer the potato slices in the baking dish, overlapping the slices slightly. After the first and second potatoes, spoon about a quarter of the cream mixture over the layers, saving half for the top potato's layers.
You'll bake the potatoes in three steps. #1 Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. #2 Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes. #3 Reduce heat to 375F/190C, dot the top with 1 tablespoon butter and bake for another 20 minutes. Finally, remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing to serve.
MAKE-AHEAD To make ahead, make and bake the entire dish. Cover with foil and refrigerate for up to four hours (longer is not recommended, the potatoes begin to turn color a little). Heat oven back to 375F/190C and bake, uncovered, until heated through, about 30 minutes. The dish is "not as good" when made-ahead but still very good.
ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES






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MORE FAVORITE POTATO RECIPES
~ Potato & Poblano Pepper Gratin ~~ Scalloped Potato & Apple ~
~ Scalloped Swedes & Finns ~
~ Greek Spinach-Asparagus-Potato Gratin (Spinaki me Sparaggia Orgraten) ~
~ more potato recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture
~ Perfect Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes (Party Potatoes) ~
~ Smashed Potatoes & Broccoli ~
~ Those Pink Potatoes ~
~ more potato recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column
A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2014
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2014
Wow. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteMy comment may appear twice - sorry! I make this, but my potatoes often do not cook through (I've resorted to par-boiling) and the cream curdles. I will try your recipe. I think the thinness of the potatoes, the ratio of cream to potato & the three stage cooking technique will resolve the problems! Thanks! ~ Sandy
ReplyDeleteSandra ~ Nope, just once! I’ve had that trouble too and know that the Cook’s Illustrated recipe parcooks the potatoes. These were totally, totally cooked, even without an excess of liquid. Let me know how yours go!
ReplyDeleteThese look divine. I can't wait to make them - I love, love potatoes, especially like this.
ReplyDeleteCyndi ~ We do “eat” with our eyes, too, don’t we?! Let me know how yours goes!
ReplyDeleteAdd some thinly sliced onions and you have exactly what I do. Taught by my grandmother in law........Grammy. She reads this site. We love you. M&R.
ReplyDeleteM & R & Grammy too ~ Well, my goodness, you sure brought tears to my eyes, the nice kind! Thank you so much for the kind words, I so appreciate your following A Veggie Venture. PS Onions! I was thinking caramelized onion but now you have me thinking a mix of thin-sliced onion and thin-sliced fennel. Would you and Grammy love that too?!
ReplyDelete