Whenever I’m planning on cooking a meal for dinner, I always decide on a main dish and then think about sides to go with that dish. But let’s face it, sometimes deciding what to cook as a side dish is really difficult! Here’s where this Creamy Potato Gratin comes in, it’s the perfect side dish for Afelia’s Roast Chicken or that Sunday leg of lamb you were planning on cooking. I do consider it to be a lush side dish, perhaps not one you will make every week but definitely one to be considered for the menu on special occasions. In fact it doesn’t just go well with meats, it goes well with any sort of main dish made from fish or vegetables; perfect for grilled or oven baked fish and my Lentil Bake (recipe coming soon). This dish is super easy to make with a handful of ingredients you most probably have at home already, with the exception of cottage cheese!

I always parboil the potatoes before baking them in the white sauce, this cuts back on the baking time and ensures when it’s time to eat, the potatoes are fully cooked through. The best thing about this dish is that it’s great for making beforehand and keeps well until you want to cook it; so if you’re entertaining it can be stored in the fridge for up to a couple of days beforehand (cover with clingfilm//foil or alternatively prep in a lidded Pyrex dish which can be baked in the oven later with the lid removed). I have used standard white potatoes for this dish, you can experiment using other varieties for a different taste and texture.

I love the taste of cottage cheese, if you’re not keen on it then use an alternative cheese, Cheddar and Red Leicester are good alternatives. I haven’t added any herbs or spices to the white sauce, I like the taste of the cottage cheese to be the dominant taste in this dish but should you want to add herbs, Rosemary or Thyme make good choices. You could also try adding garlic powder to the white sauce which I’m sure would elevate the taste overall. However you choose to cook this dish, I really hope that it will be one that you will turn to time and time again.

You will need: for Creamy Potato Gratin

1kg white potatoes
oil for drizzling

For the cheese sauce:
30g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1 pint full fat milk
1/2 tsp salt
200g cottage cheese (1 tub)

Method:

Start by half filling a large pan with water, add some salt and bring to a boil.

Peel and slice the potatoes in the meantime.

Slice the potatoes 5 – 6mm wide, this prevents them from breaking easily once parboiled. Rinse with cold water after cutting.

Once the water has come to a rolling boil (water is bubbling vigorously) add the sliced potatoes, boil for approximately 10 minutes from this point onwards. Keep a close eye on the time or use a timer, as you don’t want to overcook the potatoes.

In a separate pan begin to make the white sauce, melt 30g of butter (equivalent to 2 tbsp) over a low heat, be careful not to burn the butter.

Once melted add 2 tbsp of plain flour….

….the flour will be absorbed into the butter immediately. Fry this over a low heat for a few minutes to remove the raw taste of the flour (top right photo). Flour combined in butter like this is known as a ‘roux’ and is the first step to making the cheese sauce.

After frying begin to slowly add 1 pint of milk, A LITTLE AT A TIME, stir continuously whilst doing so. If you are using cold milk allow each addition of the milk to heat through before adding more, this helps the roux to absorb the milk better.

Only add more milk once the previous amount has been completely absorbed into the mixture and is SMOOTH, otherwise you will have a lumpy white sauce…..don’t say I didn’t warn you!

As the roux begins to look more like a white sauce you may find it easier to use a whisk to mix the milk in with (top right photo), this will also smooth out any lumps in the sauce.

Carry on adding the milk A LITTLE AT A TIME, until you have used it all up.

Eventually the roux will begin to look like a white sauce, whisk continuously as it boils to smooth out any lumps. Allow to boil and thicken slightly, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Taste the sauce and add salt if you feel you need it, I added 1/2 tsp of salt.

Lastly add 200g of cottage cheese (1 whole tub), stir into the sauce. Cover the saucepan with a lid to prevent a skin from forming and leave to one side.

By now the potatoes should be boiled (you should’ve removed them from the heat already), drain them in a colander.

Prepare an ovenproof dish for layering the potatoes in, I am using a square 24cm dish. Pour a small amount of oil in the dish….

….brush the oil all over, this helps to stop the potatoes sticking to the bottom.

Next begin to layer half of the potatoes in the dish, it’s fine to overlap the potato slices.

Use the half of the cheese sauce we made earlier and pour over the first layer of potatoes.

Carry on layering the remaining potato slices and repeat the process of covering with the cheese sauce, use up all of the sauce.

Lightly drizzle the top with oil, this helps to brown the gratin. If you plan to bake this at a later stage, cover with clingfilm or foil until you are ready to do so.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 and bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until golden brown. Test to see if the potatoes are cooked by inserting a fork into the gratin, it should go through the potatoes easily.

If the top doesn’t brown as much as you would like, place under a grill/broiler for 5 – 10 minutes and it will speed up the process.

Serve your Creamy Potato Gratin with a main dish of your choice, it could possibly steal the limelight, so be warned!

Bon Appetit!

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