I was asked by one of my viewers to make a healthier version of scallop potatoes. My family loves scalloped potatoes, I mean what’s not to love…creamy, cheesy potatoes! I nailed this recipe on my first attempt! Most of my recipes I make 2-3 times before they are ready to post. I think the key to these potatoes is making a roux. Don’t let that scare you, making a roux is super easy.
So just what is a roux? According to the Wikipedia, a roux is a cooking mixture of wheat flour and fat (traditionally butter). It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole. Clarified butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. Now I had to adapt this classic roux because I did not want to use wheat flour, so I am using potato starch instead. The results were excellent! The sauce for these potatoes are creamy, slightly thickened and full of amazing flavors.
- 2½ pounds organic potatoes
- 3 tbsp grass fed butter
- 1½ tbsp potato starch
- 1½ cups organic whole milk or fresh coconut milk, (see recipe) I do not recommend canned coconut milk for this recipe
- 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 cup organic shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup of organic shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top
- 1 tsp fresh thyme (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Peel potatoes and slice very thin, I used my mandolin for this.
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter.
- Add potato starch and whisk, allowing it to become thick.
- Add a ½ cup of milk and whisk until it thickens (about 1-2 minutes). Once it thickens, add another ½ cup of milk and whisk until it thickens. Add the final ½ cup of milk and whisk until heated (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix until it is all melted.
- Grease a 9"x13" pan with coconut oil or grass fed butter.
- Layer half of the potatoes into pan. Pour half of the sauce over potatoes. Layer remaining potatoes and cover with remaining sauce.
- Top with ½ cup of shredded cheddar. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Image courtesy of Chef Jeff and Patricia Beck/Detroit Free Press/MCT
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See that little dark piece of cheesy potato in the photo? It ‘s making me drool… 😉
That’s the best part Jan, I always make sure I get browned cheesy parts, this will be good for my dad. Thanks Halle
That looks really good Halle. I’ll try them.
Yay!
This looks like the perfect scalloped potatoes au gratin. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe. I usually save my potato cooking water for soup making. It’s quite starchy. Could that work as the potato starch? I’ve never seen a commercial potato starch, perhaps because I didn’t look for it. What brand do you buy and is it readily available?
Hi Kathryn,
Starch water probably would not work, it would have too much liquid in it. Potato starch is easy to find in stores, looking in the baking section. Here is the brand I use: http://amzn.to/1SsdylD
I haven’t made scalloped potatoes in years because I always made them with cream, but this would be a wonderful addition to our holiday table, or any time we want old fashioned comfort food. Thank you for this recipe. I featured it today as Recipe of the Day on my Facebook page, Cooking with Whole Grains & Real Whole Foods. I know others will be happy to find it.
Doubled the recipe and it turned out great! Thank you for posting a recipe using potato starch as we have both wheat and corn allergies in our family.
This is one of our favorites Kevin and super easy! Glad you enjoyed it!