Something that’s crunchy and golden on top but gooey, warm, and creamy on the bottom sounds rather Heavenly to me. And this dish is just that! It’s like a musical piece: it begins softly with this “ahhh” of crunchiness on the top, as you begin munching on the cheese… then you begin to taste the potato and the crunchiness gives way to an irresistable softness… and then the bottom, with the rich creaminess of the cream and you know it’s going to be a winner.

Yes, I know, it’s oft seen as a Southern classic and therefore, why would I make this, I who shiver in fright at the idea of Southern foods? But you know what, this looks like a gratin, and gratin looks safe (and French) and thus I thought, all right, this is do-able :). I was tempted to re-name this Thin Potato Gratin to make myself feel better (and I gave my father a piece and he called it a very good gratin, so clearly if a true Frenchman says so, it must be the case) but as Elise’s fantastic recipe is named ‘scalloped’, I opted for that… with a deep breath!

Crunchy & Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Adapted from / variant of Elise @ Simply Recipe’s Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 very large baking potato, sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 3 medium/small Yukon gold potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 1 tbsp soy butter
• 5 cloves of herb-roasted garlic, peeled, whole
• 1 tsp each of nutmeg and coriander
• 1/8 tsp cardamom
• 1 cup grated San Pietro cheese (very similar to Parmesan)
• 2/3 cup italian fancy cheese blend (mix of 5 cheeses – to be found at your local grocery store)
• 2 1/2 cups of half-and-half
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Butter (with soy butter) a large, fairly shallow dish (could be round or square)
3. Place half of the potato slices (I kept the skin on- after rinsing thoroughly- but you can peel if you so desire!) over the bottom of the dish, trying to have as little overlap as possible
4. Place the garlic cloves directly onto the slices, evenly dispersed. Sprinkle with the spices, and half the cheese.
5. Layer the other half of the potato slices in the same fashion as the first layer, and sprinkle on half of the remaining cheese, as well as the salt and pepper.
6. Pour the half-and-half and milk evenly over the dish, dot slightly with very small pieces of soy butter and cover with a large piece of aluminum foil.
7. Place in the oven for approximately an hour. Then remove from the oven, take off the foil, sprinkle on the remaining cheese, and bake for an additional 30ish minutes, until the potatoes are golden browned on the top.
8. Let cool a bit, then serve warm…. yum.

It’s seriously delicious, and if it has the French stamp of approval, clearly that means you shouldn’t waste time- go get some for yourself and see if you agree! You could change the recipe- I edited Elise’s a bit as I am horrorstruck by bacon (just ask the boyfriend), and I had been on a chives kick the week before, so I wanted to stay away from them. Plus, it’s a proven fact that cream + nutmeg = meant to be. Think of this marriage of flavours as your favourite destined couple. Just trust me on this one :).