Post Easter Au Gratin

Nothing like potatoes au gratin to go with leftover Easter ham.  I don’t think I have ever made an au gratin before, so I approached it as usual, searched online for common recipe themes and stuff that sounded good then synthesized something.  Below is the result, which actually came out quite tasty.  I don’t think I would change a thing.

• 2 large russet potatoes
• 1 yellow onion
• 1.25 cups milk
• 2 TB butter
• 2 TB flour
• about 3 – 4 ounces of grated or shredded parmesan.  The real stuff if possible, this makes a big difference in flavor.  Results in about 2/3 cup +/- of shredded.
• Panko bread crumbs
• salt and pepper

Start by peeling and thinly slice the russets.  Let soak in a bowl of fairly heavily salted water while doing everything else.  Thinly slice the onion and sauté until soft in olive oil or butter.  Prepare a medium sized covered casserole with cooking spray.

Make a white sauce with the butter, flour and milk *.  Add the grated cheese and stir until smooth and melted.  Pepper to taste.

Drain and remove excess water from potato slices.  Layer potatoes, onions, sauce, overlapping the potato slices by about half a slice.  Lightly pepper each layer.  Should come out to about 4 layers.  End with sauce on top of last layer of potatoes.

Bake covered in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 45 – 50 minutes until potatoes are done when checked with a meat fork.  Sprinkle top with Panko and put back in oven uncovered for a few minutes until brown.  (If you have finely grated parmesan, you can add this to the Panko too).  Remove from oven and let rest for at least 5 minutes.

* I make my white sauce by making a white roux then adding hot milk to the roux while stirring constantly.  Microwaving the milk in a Pyrex measuring cup saves another pot and burner.

Below is a bad picture of finished au gratin resting before being devoured.