Called kartoffelgratin elsewhere, these scalloped potatoes can be made two ways. The first one is messy and not always successful, and uses a flour-based sauce. The second is easy and uses heavy cream. I like easy and I like cream. Of course, the second way is German! The preparation for this dish is easy, especially if you use a mandoline slicer to cut the potatoes. Heat the cream, pour it over the potatoes and pop them into the oven. Ratze fatze, or as one says in English: easy breezy. That’s what makes this an ideal dish for company, because now you have about seventy-five minutes to do other things before the potatoes make an appearance at the table.
Bäckerkartoffeln (Scalloped Potatoes)
Recipe By Gerhild Fulson
- Cooking and Prep: 1 h 20 m
- Serves: 4
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Contains:
Ingredients (7)
Main ingredients
Start Cooking
Prepare the Bäckerkartoffeln
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Preheat the oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (182 degrees Celsius). Grease an eight x eight–inch (20 x 20–centimeter) baking dish with one tablespoon (15 grams) of the butter.
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Combine the cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, making sure it does not boil over. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for one minute.
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Arrange the potato slices in the casserole dish. Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes.
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Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove the potatoes from the oven.
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Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Sprinkle the cheese over the potatoes. Dot the remaining two tablespoons (30 grams) of the butter over the top. Return the baking dish to the oven for 15 minutes, or until the top of the scalloped potatoes is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
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Serve the potatoes hot.
Note:
Emmental, the famous "Swiss Cheese" with all the holes, has a nutty, sweet and fruity taste. Can't find it? Then use your favorite melty cheese.
Credits
Reprinted with permission from German Meals at Oma's by Gerhild Fulson, Page Street Publishing Co. 2018. Photo credit: Toni Zernik.
