Holiday Potato Casserole with Gouda, Garlic, and Thyme
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 21, 2007
Time
2½ hours
Yield
Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish
Ingredients
Before You Begin
The potatoes can be quickly sliced in a food processor fitted with a slicing disk. Whole peeled potatoes can be placed in water to prevent discoloring; once sliced, however, do not immerse them, because they will leach the starch necessary for thickening the sauce. The large, coarse grains of kosher salt make sprinkling easy, which is why we use it here instead of table salt. If you can find it, try substituting rich, creamy Italian (not Danish) fontina cheese for the Gouda.
Instructions
- Adjust one oven rack to lower-middle position and second oven rack to highest position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss together cheese, garlic, and thyme in small bowl; set aside.
- Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming; whisk in flour and cook until golden and bubbly, about 30 seconds. Whisking constantly, gradually add chicken stock. Increase heat to high, add bay leaf, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Off heat, remove and discard bay leaf; cover to keep sauce warm.
- Alternating Yukon Gold and russet slices, arrange a third of potatoes in overlapping rows in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, (see illustration below). Sprinkle potato layer evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and a third of cheese mixture. Make a second layer with same amount of potatoes, salt, pepper, and cheese. Make a third layer with same amount of potatoes, salt, and pepper, but reserve remaining cheese. Pour warm sauce over potatoes, tilting pan side to side to distribute evenly. Cover with foil and bake on lower-middle rack 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes longer. Remove potatoes from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake on highest rack until cheese is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and serve.
Time
2½ hoursYield
Serves 8 to 10 as a side dishIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For a potato casserole recipe that would showcase the potatoes instead of the dairy and complement, not overwhelm, the other dishes on the table, we used a mix of russet (for denseness and flavor) and Yukon Gold (for succulence) potatoes. We eliminated the cream from our potato casserole recipe but found that some dairy was necessary to bind the layers of potato together. Gouda cheese, in combination with a velouté sauce made from chicken stock, flour, and butter, did the trick.
Before You Begin
The potatoes can be quickly sliced in a food processor fitted with a slicing disk. Whole peeled potatoes can be placed in water to prevent discoloring; once sliced, however, do not immerse them, because they will leach the starch necessary for thickening the sauce. The large, coarse grains of kosher salt make sprinkling easy, which is why we use it here instead of table salt. If you can find it, try substituting rich, creamy Italian (not Danish) fontina cheese for the Gouda.
Instructions
- Adjust one oven rack to lower-middle position and second oven rack to highest position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss together cheese, garlic, and thyme in small bowl; set aside.
- Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming; whisk in flour and cook until golden and bubbly, about 30 seconds. Whisking constantly, gradually add chicken stock. Increase heat to high, add bay leaf, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Off heat, remove and discard bay leaf; cover to keep sauce warm.
- Alternating Yukon Gold and russet slices, arrange a third of potatoes in overlapping rows in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, (see illustration below). Sprinkle potato layer evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and a third of cheese mixture. Make a second layer with same amount of potatoes, salt, pepper, and cheese. Make a third layer with same amount of potatoes, salt, and pepper, but reserve remaining cheese. Pour warm sauce over potatoes, tilting pan side to side to distribute evenly. Cover with foil and bake on lower-middle rack 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes longer. Remove potatoes from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake on highest rack until cheese is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and serve.
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