Bacon Potato Gratin

Each Christmas my mother-in-law usually makes her "Cheesy Potatoes." Nothing fancy - just cubes of potatoes tossed together with sour cream, cheese, bacon and onions, baked until bubbly. It's heavy and it's delightful.

Over the last few years I've been tinkering with ways to elevate the dish a bit. I kept missing the mark with each pan - potatoes undercooked, watery sauce, not enough herbiage... until I nailed it this past Christmas!

I'll warn you in advance, while this gratin is not complicated, there are several steps and it tends to make a mess of your kitchen. But in my humble opinion, it's very well worth it! Better yet, you can make it a couple days in advance leaving your kitchen neat and tidy for the big day!

I start by rendering chopped bacon. How could this possibly go wrong? In that same skillet, I sautee onions and garlic until golden brown. While the onions do their thing, I simmer together cream, fresh herbs and dried spices. Here's the thing... I'm painfully aware of the caloric intake here. I've tried to swap the cream for milk and even half & half. I'm sorry; it just doesn't work. A bit of heavy cream is needed to help thicken the gratin.

Then comes the potatoes. I strongly suggest you use gold potatoes in this recipe. For starters, I find the texture and flavor far superior. And because the skin is so thin, I don't even bother to peel them. Score! Simply slice and par-boil. Don't over look this step. I found unless par-boiling my potatoes, the gratin often ended up a bit undercooked, especially when having the share the oven with a few other dishes. Par-cook the potatoes to make for easy and quick day-of baking times.

So these par-cooked potatoes get tossed and layered together with the herby cream, crispy bacon, sautee onions, and of course, cheese. I like using a blend of gruyere and sharp white cheddar. Then just bake until golden brown and delicious.

Bacon Potato Gratin. Perhaps not a looker of a dish, but a damn fine side if I do say so myself.

Bacon Potato Gratin

Ingredients

· 1 tbsp olive oil

· 4 slices of center-cut bacon, cut into lardon

· 1 onion, sliced thin

· 4 garlic cloves, grated

· 1 cup heavy cream

· 1 cup half & half

· 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stems removed and chopped

· 3 springs fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen twine

· 1 dried bay leaf

· 1 tsp garlic powder

· 1 tsp onion powder

· ½ tsp black pepper

· Large pinch of salt

· 3lbs gold potatoes

· 8oz gruyere, shredded

· 4oz sharp white cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a 13x9 baking dish.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon. Allow the bacon fat to render. Once the bacon pieces are crisp, transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.

Add the sliced onions and garlic to the pan with the remaining bacon fat. Sautee the onions over medium low heat until softened and golden brown.

In a small sauce pot, add the cream, half & half, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce to low and continue to simmer for at least 15 minutes to infuse the herbs into the cream.

While the cream mixture cooks, prepare the potatoes. If preferred, peel the potatoes – this step is not necessary. Cut the potatoes into 1/4in slices. Add the potatoes to a large pot full of water. Season the water very liberally with salt. Bring the pot of potatoes to a boil. Par-cook for about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes.

In a large mixing bowl, or directly in the pot in which the potatoes were cooked, toss together the par-cooked potatoes, crisp bacon, sauteed onions, cream mixture, and about half of the cheeses. Take care not to over mix and break up the potato slices.

Pour about half of the potatoes into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the potatoes. Pour the remaining potatoes evenly over top of the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake the gratin for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked – a butter knife should easily pierce through the potatoes. Broil the top of the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes to achieve the desired golden brown top.

Allow the gratin to set at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-10

Notes

The gratin can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Remove the casserole from the fridge about 1 hour before baking and bake as directed.

Gluten Free Friendly!