Scalloped potatoes are one of those dishes that brings a lot of nostalgia with it for many of us. Maybe your mother or grandmother made a version of scalloped potatoes with onions or used a white sauce as a base — but the end result is always hearty and undeniably delicious. Plain or fancy, depending on the occasion, it was a popular go-along with roasts and chops on the farm or in the city. Arranged in layers and smothered in liquid, the potatoes were baked under a blanket of toasty breadcrumbs.
Like a lot of recipes, the origin of scalloped potatoes and their name are pretty much unknown. There are theories, of course, but it’s not known which one is really true. It’s possible the ‘scallop’ part of the name derived from a dish of baked oysters covered in breadcrumbs, but there’s also speculation that ‘scallop’ came from foods baked in scallop shells or foods that looked like scallops. One common definition eventually emerged, in which ‘scalloped’ meant you’d cooked a vegetable in a creamy sauce and added breadcrumbs.
Both scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin are casseroles made by baking sliced potatoes in cream or milk. Scalloped potatoes were traditionally baked in infused milk without cheese, whereas potatoes au gratin layered cheese and sometimes other ingredients in between the potatoes. But to be honest, the lines have blurred considerably over the years and recipes for both may have a lot of overlapping ingredients.
In today’s recipe, I’m using Boursin cheese and adding some Italian sausage. I guess I should be calling it ‘potatoes au gratin w/ Italian sausage’ to be more exact. Oh well, what’s in a name, the flavor is fantastic!
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- 375 gm Italian sausage meat
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup half & half
- 150 gm Boursin cheese w/ herbs & garlic
- 500 gm potatoes, peeled & very thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt & pepper to taste
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray an 11 x 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray & set aside.
- In a saucepan, scramble fry Italian sausage meat until cooked. Drain on paper towels & wipe out saucepan.
- Add milk, half & half, Boursin cheese, garlic powder & smoked paprika. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth & the cheese has melted. Remove from heat & set aside.
- Arrange half the sliced potatoes in overlapping rows in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cooked sausage meat & pour half of the cream mixture evenly over potatoes. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, sausage & cream mixture.
- Bake, uncovered, until potatoes are tender & the top is nicely browned for about 55-60 minutes. Remove casserole from oven & sprinkle with chives.