Scalloped Potatoes
Serves 4-6
Here is a more typically American potato gratin, made with cheddar cheese and topped with crispy crumbs.
Ingredients #
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 lbs boiling potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions #
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.
In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat and whisk in the flour. Cook the roux, whisking, for three minutes. Add the broth in a stream, whisking continuously. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly, for two minutes after it’s thickened. Season with a pinch of nutmeg and cayenne, and black pepper to taste. Hold off on salt — the cheese is very salty, so you don’t want to add any salt until after it’s incorporated.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese until it’s thoroughly melted and incorporated. Add salt to taste — potatoes have a strange capacity to “absorb” salt, so you want this highly seasoned.
In the prepared baking dish, alternate 5 layers each of potatoes and sauce (beginning with potatoes and ending with sauce). Sprinkle the crumbs over the top and bake, uncovered, in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, or until the potatoes and tender and the top is golden brown. Allow to rest 15 minutes or so before serving.