Figure 1 Organically Grown Russet Burbanks Potatoes Image Source: Potato

The intro says it all. Just one additional word here is that this recipe is ideal for freezing in vacuum sealed bags to be brought out of the freezer whenever your pressed or simply don’t feel like going to the effort of preparing accompaniments for a main course. I will also be presenting a number of other vacuum sealed/freezer friendly dishes to compliment this and many other meals over the course of the next month or so.

Ingredients

• 2 Kilos (about 4½ pounds) of Potatoes
• 1 Large White Onion
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 450 Grams (1 pound) of Tasty Cheddar Cheese
• 2 Cups of Heavy Cream
• 8 Tablespoons of Butter
• 2 Tablespoons of Pure Water
• 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch or Potato Starch
• 2 Pinches of Paprika
• Freshly Ground Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Szechuan Peppercorns
• Fresh Tomato and Dried Dill Tips for Garnishing (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large casserole dish with butter of maybe even some bacon fat.
2. Wash, peel and eye the potatoes. If using new potatoes or baby potatoes then you probably can get away with just washing and eyeing them. Now slice the potatoes into ¼ inch thick slices making sure that all of the slices are very closely of the same thickness.

Figure 2 Bäuerin Kartoffel schälend, Vincent van Gough 1885 Image Source: Potato

Note: The exact thickness is not ultra important just so long as all of the potatoes are sliced into slices of nearly even thickness. This is so that they will all cook in the same time. Don’t want half raw spuds in the middle. So if you are using a slicer just set it to produce slices around ¼ of an inch thick and slice away. Otherwise take a little extra care if slicing by hand.

Tip: Round potatoes work best for this recipe.

1. Peel and cut the onion into thin slices. Then cut the slices into quarters and break them apart as you transfer them to a bowl. Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Add them in with the onion and give it a bit of a stir. Once the onion is sliced, quartered and the layers have been broken apart and the garlic has been mixed in set the bowl aside.
2. Grate the cheddar cheese using a medium setting. Reserve some and cut it into slices. Set the cheese aside for now.
3. In a small bowl or jar add the water and the starch and stir it well or if the bottle has a lid put it on and gently shake until the starch is combined with the water and no lumps remain. Now combine the starch mix with the heavy cream and mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Now take the greased casserole dish and place a layer of potato on the bottom. Then sprinkle some of your onion and garlic mix over them. Now sprinkle a layer of grated cheese over this and then season with a little freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground Szechuan peppercorns. Splash in a little of the cream mix and repeat this process until all of the potatoes have been placed into the casserole dish.
5. Now gently pour in the rest of the cream mix. Cut the butter into pats and spread over the top of the top layer of potatoes. Pop it into the oven and bake for an hour at 350 degrees F.
6. After 1 hour take the casserole dish out of the oven and give the potatoes and all a bit of a mix. Then lay the very thinly sliced cheddar slices over the top and return uncovered to the oven. Bake until the top layer of cheese forms a nice golden crust. Your Potatoes Au Gratin is now ready for serving.

Note: If you never got the thickening right you may have to bake for a little bit with the casserole dishes top off after stirring and before putting the thin cheddar slices on top. This will allow the sauce to thicken by reduction. Once satisfied with the thickness add the final layer of cheese and proceed as before.

Serving

These portions will yield 8 very healthy servings. You may want to serve topped with slices of freshly cut tomatoes sprinkled with a little dried dill tips for additional garnishing.

If you find that you have some Potato Au Gratin left over don’t worry as it keeps very well refrigerated and goes down very well cold or even reheated. For even longer storage scenarios put portions into vacuum sealed bags and freeze. Simply pop the frozen Potatoes Au Gratin into boiling water bag and all and let simmer and leave until it thaws and heats. Enjoy!