Cheesy Garlic Potato Bake

I’ll fight you to the death for the last scoop.

Potato bake, otherwise known as potatoes au gratin (French for holy shit this creamy, cheesy potato dish is amazing) has long been a staple in my life. It causes fights, is jealously guarded, and significantly overindulged in on a regular basis.

It is surprisingly easy to get wrong. I know what you’re thinking… potatoes, cream, cheese. What is there to ruin? But we’ve all been there. RSL potato bakes with still-raw slices. Friends’ mother’s tasteless trays of goo (isn’t that the worst? you get all excited when you see its golden goodness, and you dig in only to find it tastes just this side of depressing). Bakes that have funny ingredients in them that shouldn’t be found within twelve light years of the holiness that is au gratin.

Allow me to help.

ooh. Nice, yah?

Ingredients
Potatoes. Lots of them. It actually depends on what size dish, but you’ll probably need four or five decent-sized ones for most rectangle casserole dishes. peel and slice thinly. Please do use the big brown or white ones, the little red ones will hold their shape too much. Still tastes good, but just isn’t the same!
3/4 cup vegetable stock
300ml cream
garlic powder
onion powder
pepper
cheese (amount depends - for this I’d probably use 1 3/4 cups)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 and grease your casserole dish. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, and sprinkle quite liberally with the garlic, pepper and onion powder. Sprinkle over a layer of cheese.

2. Repeat.

3. On the top layer, pour over the stock and then the cream before sprinkling with the seasonings, and adding cheese to the top.

4. Bake for at least an hour. You don’t want RSL potatoes do you? I would check after an hour by sticking a knife in the middle. If it slides in easily, you’re good to go.

There are honestly so many ways of making this - poaching minced garlic in milk, adding sliced onion, sprinkling the layers with nutmeg or lemon pepper - but I just wanted to give you a basis. It’s so easy, has tons of flavour, and will probably need a security guard if you’re wanting leftovers the next day.

Enjoy, Miss K x