Weeknight Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes normally means a protracted bake time, however not with this technique! All the pieces begins on the stovetop so the potatoes are tender earlier than they even hit the oven. Meaning you get creamy, garlicky layers with a golden tacky prime 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 facet dish.
• Easy elements with Parmesan, nutmeg, and garlic for taste.
• One-pan possibility retains prep and cleanup minimal.

I don’t learn 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 way developed by the sensible of us over at Prepare dinner’s Illustrated, and let me inform you, it’s a game-changer. By simmering the potatoes first, you chop the baking time means down whereas nonetheless getting all the things you like about scalloped potatoes. Parmesan, garlic, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg make the entire dish shine. And if you would like even fewer dishes, you may hold 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 perfect texture.
• Salted Butter: Utilizing salted butter simply means you received’t want so as to add fairly as a lot salt later. For those who solely have unsalted, simply add an additional pinch of salt.
• Minced Garlic: Freshly minced has the perfect taste, however pre-minced from a jar works too. It simply has a barely extra bitter taste.
• Heavy Cream: You possibly can substitute with half-and-half, however the sauce might be barely thinner.
• Hen Broth: Vegetable broth works if you wish to hold it vegetarian.
• Salt: Modify to style in case your broth is salted. Begin with much less and style as you go.
• Black Pepper: Freshly cracked pepper provides probably 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 utilize actually does change how your scalloped potatoes prove. The distinction comes right down to starch ranges.

Russet Potatoes (Excessive-Starch): That is the traditional selection for a motive. Russets have a number 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 absorb taste and keep in good, tender layers as a substitute of sliding into mush.

Yukon Gold Potatoes (Medium-Starch): For those who like your potatoes a bit of creamier and buttery, Yukon Golds are an ideal possibility. They don’t launch as a lot starch, so your sauce may not be fairly as thick, however they provide 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. For those who use them, count on a firmer texture and a thinner cream base. Completely nice if that’s your fashion, but it surely received’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 offers you constant 1/8-inch slices very quickly, however for those who 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 facet that may work.

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

Pan Selections

This recipe offers you two methods to bake: hold all the things in a single pot or switch to a baking dish.

You probably have a smaller 2 to three quart oven-safe pot, you may cook dinner and bake all the things 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 huge, normally round 6 quarts, and that’s means an excessive amount of house for this recipe. The potatoes will simply unfold out and received’t bake up the best way you need. In that case, switch all the things 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 may 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 possibly can even do a mixture of any of them. Simply hold the entire 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 folks, 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. Needless to say 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 possibly can assemble the potatoes as much as 24 hours upfront. Observe the recipe via simmering and transferring to your baking dish, then cowl tightly with foil and refrigerate.

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

Serving Solutions

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