One thing we really love in my family are scalloped potatoes. They are not something which I make very often, especially now when I am on my own here.
I saw this simple recipe in a Taste of Home Cookbook the other day, entitled Grandma's Favorites. It intrigued me for several reasons.
Normally I have made scalloped potatoes in one of two ways. The first way it to simply layer the potatoes, along with onion, in a baking dish, layering flour, salt, pepper and dots of butter in between the layers.
Next an amount of milk is poured over top. Just until the milk is barely peeking through the layers. You don't want the dish more than 1/3 full of milk. This then gets covered and baked until the potatoes are tender.
The flour in between the layers works with the butter to slightly thicken it. You can also put bits of cheese between the layers depending on how rich you want the finished bake to be.
The other way is to make a cream/béchamel sauce and layer slightly cooked and sliced potatoes along with onions and the sauce in a dish. This is a bit more labor intensive due to making the sauce first.
Like the other version, this is baked until the potatoes are tender as well and bubbling away, golden brown.
This version today used basically only a few ingredients. There was no sauce making required either. It looked really simple, simple, simple I decided to amp it up a bit by using two potatoes, sweet and russet.
I also added a bit more seasoning to give it extra flavor.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SIMPLE DOUBLE SCALLOPED POTATOES
You won't believe how simple these ingredients are. A bit rich maybe with the cream, but what the heck!
- 1 large russet baking potato (or two medium ones)
- 1 large sweet potato (or two medium ones)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp each dried thyme, ground black pepper, and garlic powder (not salt)
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) heavy cream
- 2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Make sure you use garlic powder and not garlic salt. You could also use finely minced fresh garlic if you wanted to. I would use only 1 fat clove, peeled and minced.
If you are not wanting to use heavy cream, you can substitute it with undiluted evaporated milk. This comes in a low fat version as well. You really can't taste that it is evaporated milk, and it cuts down on the fat and calories quite a bit.
My russet potato was about six inches in length, and so was my sweet potato, so quite large really. They were the perfect size to fill my casserole dish comfortably.
The original recipe used 3 pounds of russet potatoes and 3 cups (720ml) of cream. It also made 10 servings. I thought using sweet potatoes would cut down on the carbs a bit, and be a tiny bit healthier.
They also added flavor and color. I also cut the recipe down by 2/3 pretty much.
HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE DOUBLE SCALLOPED POTATOES
Nothing could be any simpler than this. I peeled my potatoes and then cut them into thin slices. I placed them in stacks, alternating the white and the sweet potatoes. I guess I made about six stacks. I then cut the stacks in half crosswise to make 12 stacks of half moon potatoes.
I placed the stacks of potatoes, rounded sides up, flat sides down, next to each other in a well-buttered 7 by 11 inch baking dish. You want to leave a bit of room around the rows of potatoes, but they fit fairly snugly.
Once I had the slices in the dish, I sprinkled the seasoning, thyme and garlic powder, evenly over top of the potatoes. You could also add a sprinkle of onion powder if you have it.
I then poured the cream over top. You don't want the dish swimming in cream, but take a tip of a knife and jiggle the potatoes a tiny bit to make sure the cream gets evenly dispersed.
They will not be covered, but you don't want them to be. Like milk, cream expands when it is heated so you don't want it to overflow in the oven. I also placed the baking dish on a baking sheet just in case.
Cover your baking dish tightly with some aluminum foil and then pop the baking tray into a oven which has been preheated to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4.
This needs to bake now for 40 to 45 minutes. At that point you can uncover it. Increase the oven temperature to 375*F/ 190*C/ gas mark 5 and bake it for about 15 minutes longer until the mixture is bubbling away and the top has browned a tiny bit.
You can sprinkle the optional grated Parmesan cheese on top for the last five minutes if you wish. Leave the baked casserole to set and settle down for 10 minutes before serving.
This is simply wonderful. Very easy to make and oh so delicious. I guarantee it is destined to be a much requested side dish by your family and friends.
I cannot think of anything this would not go with. You could turn it into a main dish by adding some cubed ham and it would be really lush. In that case I think it would feed 3 people rather than 4.
I do hope you will want to give it a go. I think if you do you will agree that it is a really winning taste combination!
A bit indulgent perhaps, but I have never really done anything halfway. I am a full-on kind of woman! But you probably know that by now!
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