(Mass Appeal) – If you are looking for a comfort food classic to serve alongside your next main dish you can’t go wrong with potatoes! So let’s take it up a notch. To help do that is cookbook author Jessie-Sierra Ross of the blog Straight to the Hips, Baby.
Smoked Cheddar Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
- 4 small shallots, minced
- 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup shredded smoked cheddar
- 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and reserve a 3 quart (13″ x 9″) casserole dish for baking.
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Using a mandoline slicer, slice the potatoes into 1/8 inch thick rounds. You can also do this step by hand with a sharp knife.
- Add the potato slices to a large mixing bowl of ice water, to prevent browning. Reserve.
- Mince the garlic and shallots. Reserve.
- In a Dutch oven or large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat, until foamy.
- Add the garlic and shallot to the melted butter and cook until slightly translucent & soft. Stir occasionally. Lower the temperature if the aromatics start to brown. About 5 minutes.
- Add the flour, a pinch of salt, and several grinds of fresh black pepper to the pot.
- Continue stirring and cook the flour with the aromatics, until it reaches a light brown color. This is our roux for the cheese sauce. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Next, add the milk to the pot and continue stirring. Heat until the sauce reaches a low simmer and has thickened to coat the back of a spoon. 5-7 minutes.
- After thickening, remove the pot from the heat and add half of the shredded cheese to the sauce base. Stir to combine. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander over the sink, and return to the mixing bowl.
- Take the casserole dish and spread a thin layer of the cheese sauce all over the bottom.
- Next, start to layer your potato slices in a shingle pattern (overlapping rows) in one large layer. The potatoes should resemble fish scales when layered correctly.
- Now, add half of the cheese sauce over the first layer of potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.
- Repeat another overlapping layer of potato slices and spread the last of the cheese sauce on top.
- Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the oven for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, uncover the casserole dish and continue to bake for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and slightly golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
