Easter is just around the corner! I've been wracking my brain for the last few weeks about what I want to make. I always struggle with Easter for some reason. I like all the fun parts of it, the kids, the bubbles, the easter egg hunting, but I really don't like ham. I'm not sure why either. A few years ago, my family just said screw it and we made enchiladas for Easter. That was delicious. But then, I give birth to these ham-craving little people and it's literally like their favorite food on earth. We cannot go to the grocery store without them making sure to remind me to get ham for their sandwiches. So, we're having ham ;)
But any good ham deserves a great sidekick, and these are it. The goat cheese brings an unexpected richness to it beyond the usual yummy, creamy goat cheese flavor. The parmesan and breadcrumb topping is literally the icing on the cake. A bit salty, rich, and a little crunch to your bite of potatoes makes it feel kind of like I could just eat these for a meal. Plus they're really simple. A basic roux, goat cheese, and 3 layers of thinly sliced potatoes. And you have the perfect side dish for Easter this weekend.
I picked up a mandolin off Amazon for $30 a week ago, mostly because I want to make homemade french fries and be able to julienne veggies easier and I love it way more than I anticipated! Below is the one I purchased...and good news, it has a finger guard so hopefully no trips to the urgent care :). I was able to get 1.5 pounds of potatoes thinly sliced and ready for their sauce in about 20 minutes. Had I been using a knife, it would have been easily double that. The best part about scalloped potatoes is how the thin slices somewhat melt into each other after cooking in the sauce. Especially goat cheese sauce.
After all my potatoes were thinly sliced, I got to work on my sauce. It's really very basic but rich and delicious. First things first, get some butter melting. I added garlic to the butter once it was totally melted before adding in my fresh herbs and flour. This will create your roux, which will thicken your sauce. After you add in your flour, stir for a few more minutes to ensure the flour actually cooks. Sounds weird but trust me on that. Raw flour taste in your sauce is a no-go.
Once your roux is created, next begin adding your milk, about 1/4 cup at a time. Do this until all your milk is added ensuring to stir after each time so that the sauce thickens. If you dump it all in at the same time, it likely will take a lot longer to thicken or won't thicken as much. No one wants soupy potatoes! Once your milk has been added, put in 4 oz goat cheese into the sauce and stir well. Ensure your heat stays on low so you don't scald your milk or your cheese, and just keep stirring to keep it creamy while you layer your potatoes.
I had an assorted bag of potatoes which actually turned out kind of fun, but you can use any, and honestly Russet Potatoes are the easiest with the Mandolin or slicing. I sprayed a small, glass dish with spray oil and layered 1/3 of the potatoes and 1/3 of my bunch of asparagus over my potatoes. Next, sprinkle with salt and pepper. This is important. Potatoes will absorb the salt and it's crucial to season each layer. The sauce is rich but it won't provide the potatoes with the correct seasoning within each layer if that makes sense.
Next, add about 1/3 of your sauce, or just until your potatoes are lightly coated. Next add the second layer of potatoes and sprinkle with asparagus, salt and pepper. Sauce accordingly.
For the third layer, you'll repeat accordingly, but over the top of the sauce, sprinkle parmesan, breadcrumbs, a diced tablespoon of butter and more fresh herbs for baking. This gives the dish a great little crunch when you bite into it. Creamy, crunchy, rich...it's so good!!
Bake at 400° for 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the thickness of your potatoes. If you do not have a mandolin and and your slices are thick, you can hold off on the topping and cover with aluminum foil for about 40 minutes, then for the last 20 minutes, pull from the oven and add your parmesan/breadcrumb/herb/butter topping and cook that for the last 20 minutes to get the crisp on the top. This will allow the potatoes to cook a bit faster.
We hope you enjoy this as much as we did!! Enjoy :)
Comments