Cheesy Herb Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe
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Cook Time
Boil and peel the potatoes. Mix in milk, butter, and the cheese of your choice. A good combination would be 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup butter, and 1/2 cup cheese to 6 medium sized potatoes. Then, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of herbs to the cheese mixture. Herbs that taste best are parsley, chives, onion, garlic, or oregano. Next pour the mixture over the potatoes or mash everything together depending on your preference.
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Whole Milk
- 1/4 Cup Salted Butter
- 1/2 Cup Cheese (Any Kind), Grated
- 6 Medium Potatoes, Peeled
- 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Fresh Herbs (Examples: Chives, Garlic, Onion, Oregano, Parsley, or Rosemary), Chopped
- Cooking Spray or Butter
Preparation and Cooking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C.
- Lightly grease a 1 quart casserole dish using butter or a favorite cooking spray.
- Wash and peel the potatoes.
- Dice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.
- Fill a pan with water and boil the potatoes until they just start to soften. Once the water is boiling, the potatoes should be sufficiently cooked in less than 10 minutes. Be careful that you do not overcook them and occasionally check with a fork.
- Immediately drain the water and add the potatoes to the casserole dish.
- In a saucepan over medium heat on the stove top, mix in the milk, butter, and carefully melt the cheese to create a cheese sauce. Be careful not to scorch the cheese and remember to stir constantly.
- Next, add the herbs to the sauce
- Remove the cheese sauce from the heat and pour over the potatoes in the casserole dish. Mix the potatoes and suace so that everything is covered.
- Bake the casserole dish for 30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and the top has been lightly browned.
Substitutions and Tricks
Vegetables
You can alter the recipe by using finely chopped vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, parsnips, squash, or turnips; or, try substituting noodles instead of potatoes. Most root vegetables can be lightly sauteed in a pan with butter instead of boiled. Other vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower cook quicker and therefore can be cut into bit sized pieces and directly added without prior cooking for better texture. If you use noodles or rice in the baked casserole dish, then you will need to make sure that you cook them al dente to ensure that they do not get soft and mushy during the baking process.
Mashing vs. Baking
Instead of pouring the liquid over the vegetables you can also try mashing the mixture together for a different taste and texture. If you decide to make the recipe as a mash, then use a Kitchen Aide or other electric mixer to whip it. This works really well when using cauliflower or turnips. If mashing the vegetables, you will need to make sure that they have been fully cooked and are soft enough to enable them to be mashed.
Herbs
The selection of herbs listed in this recipe are meant solely as a suggestion. You can try using other herbs for a variety of different tastes. For example, you could try making rosemary and lavender cheese potatoes! Even though fresh herbs are suggested, you can also use dried herbs but will need to significantly reduce the amount used within the recipe.
Cheeses
Don't constrain yourself to just using simple cheeses like cheddar, mozzarella, or swiss. You can also experiment with other cheeses such as gruyere, munster, smoked provolone, or even try a fresh mozzarella. You are only limited by your imagination!
© 2016 Midnight Muse
