From the Garden: Recipe for Oven Roasted Potato Gratin with Bacon and Cream

New russet potatoes

Nowadays my cooking style is becoming more fancy. I rarely plan a recipe or meal in advance. ( This is why you rarely see holiday recipes on this blog. before actual vacation in a given year).

And while it's true that I spend most of the morning thinking about what I'm going to make for dinner, these are small thoughts that change frequently throughout the day and are usually inspired by what's in front of me—say, a freshly picked potato that size. . . Which can easily feed two people.

Chinese pink garlic and sweet onion, fresh from the garden

When I pulled this potato out of the ground a few days ago, all it saw were floating bubbles full of sound, taste and smell, and I just knew that the giant potato would match the potato I pulled out . Onion and garlic. Simple and complex products.


When blocks are replaced by cuts forming layers; Creamy and the onions and garlic get crispy in the bacon fat.


I know. Sorry about the beef fat cream . This is fantasy at its best.

Baked garden potatoes with bacon and cream

If you eat more of it, your waistline will increase . [ Tip: Serve in front of a crowd, making sure there are no leftovers.]

Freshly harvested first season russet potatoes have thinner skins (at least in my garden), waxy and drier than the less absorbent Yukon Gold potatoes, and are great for the liquid you want the potatoes to absorb, giving your back creamy consistency. I recommend it for such dishes.

Potatoes grew right behind the wild onions

Is it bad of me to post a hot oven recipe like this in July? Not in my kitchen. The "summer months" on the far northern coast of California are foggy and cool, and sometimes bitterly cold . My zucchini is having problems. Potatoes like it.


Baked potato gratin with onion, garlic, bacon and cream
Recipe from Christina Hills.
Makes 8-12 small servings.
pressure
Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 large new russet potatoes, peeled and sliced ​​1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
• 1 medium onion, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, peeled, halved from stem to base, then thinly sliced.
• 6 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• Cook 6 slices of bacon, reserving the bacon fat!
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare potatoes, onions and garlic as above and set aside.
Heat a large cast iron skillet or other heavy 12-inch skillet over high heat and add bacon. When the bacon fat begins to render, reduce the heat to medium and cook the bacon, turning it halfway through cooking, until crispy. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour all but one tablespoon of bacon fat out of the pan, reserving the bacon fat, and return the pan to the heat.
Add the chopped onion and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat until softened and golden brown. Place on a plate and set aside.
If necessary, add some bacon fat to the pan and heat until completely melted, then remove the pan from the heat.
Place a layer of potato slices on the bottom of the pan. I usually lay them out in overlapping rings, starting at the outer edge of the pan and working towards the center. Season with salt and pepper and then add a second layer of potatoes.
Spread the onion mixture evenly over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place another layer of potatoes on top of the onions, and another layer if there are enough potatoes. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Potatoes love salt.
Pour the cream around the pan and then over the potatoes.
Cut the bacon into small pieces and sprinkle on top.
Cover the pan with a lid or foil for 40 to 60 minutes or until all the cream is absorbed and the potatoes spring back when pierced with a fork.
Remove the lid and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes until the top is lightly browned.
Cut a portion.

• If I don't have my son Josh's homemade bacon , I use Niman Ranch raw applewood bacon, which can be found at almost any good grocery store.
• I use organic whipping cream from Strauss Family Creamery in a refill glass bottle.

[Am I talking about this weird part? - Where did I change my mind in the middle of a piece/piece/cube and, oops!, went the other way? - This can be confusing for friends or family members who are helping in the kitchen . (I think that's why I love to cook for myself.) Although Mr. Sissy, accustomed to my cooking after almost 30 years of marriage, became an excellent sous chef, able to deftly change direction at my whim. On a whim - and she didn't upset me about it.]

Copyright © 2005-2012, Kristin Cooks. All rights reserved

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