Scalloped Potatoes

March 19th, 2007, 12:00 am PDT by Greg

Scalloped potatoes definitely a comfort food for me. As many know, potatoes were the unchallenged starch in my house. Pasta or rice could occasionally be served, as long as they were accompanied by potatoes in some form. At some point, I realized that it was conceptually possible to have an evening meal without a potato component. Somewhere in my heart, I still don’t feel it.

Kat’s family seems to be about the same way with rice. Noodles or potatoes? Fine, but get yourself some of the steamed rice to go with it.

Anyway… I had the foresight to have my mother write down her scalloped potato recipe at some point (from memory, naturally and it’s exactly what I remember). I made it for myself tonight.

  • 4 baking potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • butter
  • flour
  • salt & pepper
  • milk

Most scalloped potato recipes call for first making a roux. Totally unnecessary. Cheese? Interferes with the potato flavour.

  1. Set your oven to 325°F. Find a casserole dish somewhere in the 1.5–2 litre range. Butter the casserole dish generously (i.e. smear butter around with your fingers; there should be a few little butter goobers left around).
  2. Lay down a layer of potato slices in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle about 2 tbsp of flour. Salt and pepper.
  3. Repeat until you get near the top of the dish. (Throw in a little more butter or some chopped onions if you feel the urge.) Finish with an un-topped potato layer. Give it a bit of a push down so everything settles.
  4. Pour on milk until you can just see it around the edges (maybe 3/4 of the way up the dish).
  5. Cover and throw in the oven. It can bubble-over: consider sliding a baking sheet under it.
  6. Stir the whole thing around after an hour. (If it looks too wet, only half-cover it.) Cook until tender, 1.5–2 hours (total).

Eat it while it’s still screeching hot. Mmmmm… childhood.

Comments are closed.