Description
These scalloped potatoes are an incredible holiday side dish. They are creamy and indulgent and an absolute crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 2 tablespoons salt for the boiling water, plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 10 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 ½ teaspoons white pepper, divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (use fresh nutmeg, if possible), divided
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Butter an 8×8 baking dish.
- Wash and peel your potatoes.
- Slice your potatoes into 1/8-inch slices and put into a bowl of water to prevent browning. If you can’t get a similarly shaped or full slice from the ends of the potatoes, put those to the side and use them in something else. (You can go ahead and parboil them with the rest of the slices, but don’t use them in this dish.)
- Put a pot with 4 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to boil.
- Once the water is boiling, drain the potato slices from their water bowl and blanch for 3 minutes. Note that the water does not have to return to a boil. After 3 minutes immediately remove them from the hot water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a large bowl, or two if needed, filled with ice water, to cool.
- Once the potatoes are cooled, transfer the slices to a towel lined baking sheet to drain and blot them lightly to dry.
- Divide the shredded cheese into three piles, with one pile being slightly larger than the other two.
- Separate your potato slices into three even parts. In your buttered baking dish and begin layering the potato slices, overlapping or tiling them, to cover the bottom of the dish. Season as evenly as you can with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. Sprinkle one of the smaller cheese piles over top.
- Layer a second later of potatoes and repeat the seasoning as above.
- Place the third and final layer of potatoes and season with 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Sprinkle the larger cheese pile evenly over the potatoes. Drizzle the cream slowly over the top, taking your time to drizzle evenly and making sure that you reach the edge and corners where the potatoes meet the baking dish. You want the cream to travel down to the lower layers and really seep into the dish as much as possible.
- Bake for an hour and 15 to 30 minutes, or until the cream is bubbling, the cheese is golden, and the potatoes are fork tender. Look through the oven door without opening it to get visual cues around 45 minutes. Around an hour to an hour 15 minutes, you can fork test the potatoes to see how done they are. If more cooking is needed, then tent the dish loosely with foil to prevent over-browning, and continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!