au gratin potatoes, very easy
(7 ratings)
This is a good beginners recipe. The white sauce is the beginning of literally hundreds of recipes, when you add the cheese to it you have a cheese sauce that also doubles as a sauce for mac and cheese. You can put literally any combination of cheeses, I have seen professional chefs put 4 and 5 different cheeses in their sauce. I usualy just use cheddar, but everyone has their own favorites. I like the addition of mustard if it is a cheese sauce, for just a white sauce you could leave it out.
(7 ratings)
yield
8 to 10
prep time
20 Min
cook time
40 Min
method
Bake
Ingredients For au gratin potatoes, very easy
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3 lgpotatoes, russets work well here
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1 mdonion
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2 Tbspbutter, please don't subsitute
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2 Tbspall purpose flour
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2 cwhole milk (yes you can use reduced calorie, but it is not as good)
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1/2 tspeach salt and pepper , or to taste
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1 tspdry mustard ( this is optional, like this in the cheese version)
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8 ozgrated cheese, i like sharp cheddar, but any combo you like is just fine
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1/4 tsppaprika, for garnish
How To Make au gratin potatoes, very easy
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1Peel the potatoes and onions. Slice both potatoes and onions in half lengthwise and slice thinly, you want the slices to look like half moons. -
2Put the potatoes and onions in a sauce pan, cover with cold water, and cook until fork tender. You don't want the potatoes mushy, after all you are going to bake them too.
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3Pour potatoes and onions into a drainer.
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4Meanwhile while the potatoes and onions cook make your sauce.
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5Melt the butter, and stir in the flour with a spatula. A spatula for a cream sauce makes a lot of sense and is more efficient than a spoon. Continue stiring to make a paste, let cook a minute to cook out the flour taste. Add the salt, pepper, and mustard.
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6Stir in the milk a little at a time. stirring to make smooth. Continue to cook until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken. Watch it keep stirring, and don't walk away. Congradulations beginner!!!! You have just made a white sauce, one of the mother sauces. You will never know how thick your sauce is until it comes to a boil.
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7Now stir in the cheese, take off heat and continue to stir until the cheese melts. Now you have a cheese sauce. This is also the sauce for mac and cheese
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8Spray a 8x8 inch casserole or gratin dish. Put half your potatoes in, cover with half the cheese sauce, put in the rest of the potatoes and pour the rest of the sauce over.
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9Sprinkle with paprika, just for color.
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10Bake in a pre heated 350° oven for 45 minutes or until bubbly and browned
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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