Weeknight Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes often means an extended bake time, however not with this technique! Every thing begins on the stovetop so the potatoes are tender earlier than they even hit the oven. Which means you get creamy, garlicky layers with a golden tacky high in about half-hour. It’s weeknight-friendly, however fancy sufficient for vacation dinners.

These are good to serve alongside a roasted turkey breast or spiral ham.

Why My Recipe

• Fast stovetop begin hastens baking for a 30-minute aspect dish.
• Easy elements with Parmesan, nutmeg, and garlic for taste.
• One-pan choice retains prep and cleanup minimal.

I don’t find out about you, however as a lot as I really like scalloped potatoes, I hardly ever make them as a result of they take too lengthy. This technique is definitely tailored from a method developed by the good of us over at Cook dinner’s Illustrated, and let me let you know, it’s a game-changer. By simmering the potatoes first, you chop the baking time approach down whereas nonetheless getting the whole lot you’re keen on about scalloped potatoes. Parmesan, garlic, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg make the entire dish shine. And if you’d like even fewer dishes, you possibly can maintain all of it in a small Dutch oven from begin to end.

Ingredient Notes

• Russet Potatoes: Their excessive starch content material helps thicken the sauce and retains the slices from falling aside. Slice them evenly, about 1/8-inch thick, for the most effective texture.
• Salted Butter: Utilizing salted butter simply means you gained’t want so as to add fairly as a lot salt later. In case you solely have unsalted, simply add an additional pinch of salt.
• Minced Garlic: Freshly minced has the most effective taste, however pre-minced from a jar works too. It simply has a barely extra bitter taste.
• Heavy Cream: You’ll be able to substitute with half-and-half, however the sauce shall be barely thinner.
• Rooster Broth: Vegetable broth works if you wish to maintain it vegetarian.
• Salt: Alter to style in case your broth is salted. Begin with much less and style as you go.
• Black Pepper: Freshly cracked pepper provides essentially the most taste.
• Floor Nutmeg: Only a contact enhances the creaminess of the sauce with out overpowering it.
• Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated melts extra easily and offers higher taste than pre-shredded.

Potato Science

Potatoes aren’t all constructed the identical, and the kind you employ actually does change how your scalloped potatoes prove. The distinction comes all the way down to starch ranges.

Russet Potatoes (Excessive-Starch): That is the traditional selection for a motive. Russets have plenty of starch, which suggests as they cook dinner, they naturally thicken the cream into that silky sauce all of us love. Additionally they have a drier texture, so that they take in taste and keep in good, tender layers as an alternative of sliding into mush.

Yukon Gold Potatoes (Medium-Starch): In case you like your potatoes a little bit creamier and buttery, Yukon Golds are a fantastic choice. They don’t launch as a lot starch, so your sauce may not be fairly as thick, however they offer you a wealthy, nearly custardy chunk.

Pink Potatoes (Low-Starch/Waxy): Reds will completely maintain their form, however they don’t offer you a lot assist with the sauce. In case you use them, anticipate a firmer texture and a thinner cream base. Completely effective if that’s your model, however it gained’t really feel fairly like traditional scalloped potatoes.

Potato Slicing Choices

Even slices are the key to scalloped potatoes that cook dinner evenly and get that good tender chunk. A mandoline provides you with constant 1/8-inch slices very quickly, however in case you don’t have one, a meals processor with a slicing blade or a sharp chef’s knife works too. Some cheese graters even have a slicing aspect that may work.

In case you’re slicing by hand, lower the potato in half lengthwise first for a flat floor. It makes issues safer and simpler.

Pan Decisions

This recipe offers you two methods to bake: maintain the whole lot in a single pot or switch to a baking dish.

When you’ve got a smaller 2 to three quart oven-safe pot, you possibly can cook dinner and bake the whole lot in the identical dish. That’s the best route and it’s tremendous handy, however lots of people don’t have such a small oven-safe pot.

Most Dutch ovens are fairly large, often round 6 quarts, and that’s approach an excessive amount of house for this recipe. The potatoes will simply unfold out and gained’t bake up the way in which you need. In that case, switch the whole lot right into a 9×9 pan or a 1 1/2 to 2-quart casserole dish to complete baking.

Tacky Variations

Parmesan retains this dish traditional, however you possibly can have enjoyable with the cheese right here.

Sharp cheddar provides a daring taste, Gruyère offers a nutty richness, and Fontina melts so properly into the cream. You’ll be able to even do a mixture of any of them. Simply maintain the full quantity of cheese round 1/2 to 1 cup so the sauce doesn’t get too heavy.

Scaling the Recipe

Want greater than 4 servings? This recipe scales simply. For about 8 individuals, double the elements and use a 9×13-inch baking dish. For a crowd of 12 to 16, triple the recipe and break up it between two 9×13 pans. Understand that bigger batches might take an additional 10 to fifteen minutes within the oven, so begin checking for doneness across the 30-minute mark.

Make-Forward Possibility

You’ll be able to assemble the potatoes as much as 24 hours upfront. Comply with the recipe by simmering and transferring to your baking dish, then cowl tightly with foil and refrigerate.

Once you’re able to bake, let the dish sit out for 20–half-hour whereas your oven heats, then high with cheese and bake as directed. You might want so as to add 5–10 minutes because it’s beginning chilly.

Serving Strategies

Scalloped potatoes are a aspect dish that goes with nearly the whole lot. They’re good with roasted chicken, a glazed ham steak, or a juicy beef ribeye. And actually? They’re so good you may simply make them the star of the plate.