Twist on a classic carb (Fontina Scalloped Potatoes)

A couple weekends ago I visited my best friend in Dallas. I got in super early on Friday morning and, after some pool vegging, we decided we wanted to try a bunch of new recipes and cook a big fancy dinner for ourselves, her boyfriend, and her roommate.

While pasta is my default carb, she insisted that we needed some kind of cheesy potatoes. So after intensive Pinterest perusal, we found this recipe—and it was delicious! The fontina (or in our case, muenster because we couldn’t find fontina) and the fresh thyme really give this a cool flavor, a little different from your average scallopped potatoes.

We paired these with chicken fried chicken, roasted asparagus, and sauteed kale.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Slice up the potatoes (about 5 medium, or 2 1/2 pounds). Make sure they’re fairly thin (so they cook quickly), and evenly cut.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. We didn’t have a Dutch oven, so we used a big skillet. When the foaming subsides, add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned (about 4 minutes).

Chop up the thyme after pulling it off the stem. We used more than the 1 teaspoon called for.

Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the potatoes, broth and cream to the pan and heat to simmer (this took 5-10 minutes for us).

Cover the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender. This will probably take about 10 minutes.

Test one of the thicker slices for doneness with a fork or paring knife (should be able to be slipped in and out with minimal resistance).

Pour the whole mixture into the baking dish. The recipe calls for an 8×8 square baking dish, but we used a 9×13.

Sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese. Recipe calls for fontina but we couldn’t find, so we used muenster. I also threw a little cheddar on top because it didn’t quite look like it had enough. Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes (I think it was more like 20 for us).

The whole awesome meal we had (minus the brie & jam appetizers and the strawberry shortcake dessert). SO delicious!

Fontina Scalloped Potatoes

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (or a couple T. of already-minced garlic)
• 1 tablespoon or more of fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds (about 5 medium) russet potatoes, fairly thinly sliced (note, recipe says to peel but I love potato peel so we didn’t)
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces (1 cup) or more shredded fontina cheese (we used muenster)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the foaming subsides, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
3. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds.
4. Add potatoes, broth and cream and heat to simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender (a paring knife can be slipped into and out of a potato slice with some resistance), about 10 minutes.
5. Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish (we used a 9×13). Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake until the cream is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, about 15 minutes (I think it was more like 20 for us).  Cool before serving.

Original recipe from Recipe.com

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