A few years back, KB was invited to do a segment of Holiday Favorites on a local television show. Even better, the camera crew came to visit us at our space in the North Loop of Minneapolis. We were anticipating one of those gray and blustery Minnesota weekends, so, Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Cream seemed just the trick. Since they take about an hour to cook, the school and store smelled wonderful. After the segment, our team asked if they could have the leftovers for lunch. They must have been good because the casserole dish was completely emptied. We’re happy to say that this recipe has become a staple of our buddy Michael Moore’s trips up North. The recipe is great. And a scoop of Swedish lingonberries makes the whole thing riktigt välsmakande!
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Cream
Think of this recipe as a bit of a riff on scalloped potatoes, potatoes Dauphinoise and Jansson’s Temptation!
Preheat your oven to 425º. Peel the potatoes and slice as thin as you are able.
Peel and thinly slice the onions. In a medium skillet, melt a few tablespoons of butter. Sauté the onions until they’ve caramelized.
Take the clove of garlic and mince super fine. Great opportunity to use your microplane grater! Whisk the garlic, one tablespoon of mustard and the heavy cream until well blended
Thinly slice the hunk of ham.
Now we’ll assemble. Grab one of your favorite ceramic baking dishes. An 8 x 8 is a good place to start. Take one tablespoon of butter and rub it all around the ceramic dish. Alternate layers — potatoes, sprinkle of onions, bit of cheese and ham to taste. Bit of salt and pepper. Depending on the thickness of your ingredients, you should be able to get two alternating layers of the three ingredients and then finish with one layer of potatoes.
Pour the steeping garlic cream into the dish. You’ll want to just submerge everything. Finish with a bit more cheese, salt and pepper.
Place the baker on a sheet pan, in case it boils over! Bake uncovered 40 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.