Description
Julia Child’s classic French scalloped potatoes deliver pure comfort on a plate. Layers of thinly sliced potatoes mingle with rich cream, delicate cheese, and aromatic herbs, creating a luxurious side dish you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 4 medium russet potatoes (about 2 pounds / 907 grams)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream (355 milliliters)
- ½ cup whole milk (120 milliliters)
Cheese:
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese (about 4 ounces / 113 grams)
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ½ ounces / 43 grams)
Seasonings and Additional Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams), plus more for greasing the baking dish
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Prepare the oven by heating to 350°F (177°C), then generously coat an 8-inch square baking dish with unsalted butter, ensuring complete coverage.
- Carefully peel potatoes and create uniform 1/8-inch-thick rounds using a mandoline or precision knife, maintaining consistent thickness for even cooking.
- Combine sliced potatoes with heavy cream, whole milk, butter, minced garlic, fresh thyme leaves, salt, black pepper, and ground nutmeg in a medium saucepan, creating a rich, aromatic base.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat, gently stirring the mixture to prevent scorching and allow flavors to meld together, cooking until potatoes become slightly tender but retain their structural integrity, approximately 5-6 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and delicately fold in grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses, ensuring even distribution and creating a smooth, creamy texture.
- Transfer the potato and cheese mixture into the prepared buttered baking dish, spreading evenly to create a uniform layer.
- Position the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, monitoring until the surface develops a golden-brown crust and potatoes become completely tender when pierced with a fork.
- After removing from the oven, allow the scalloped potatoes to rest for 10-12 minutes, enabling the dish to set and flavors to stabilize before serving.
Notes
- Master the Knife Skills: Precision matters when cutting potatoes into paper-thin, consistent slices that guarantee uniform cooking and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Infuse Creamy Flavors: Gently simmer potato slices in the luxurious cream mixture before baking, allowing them to absorb rich seasonings and become supremely tender.
- Create Cheesy Layers: Strategically stack potato slices with generous cheese sprinklings between each layer, ensuring every bite bursts with intense, melty goodness.
- Watch Baking Carefully: Golden-brown tops and perfectly tender potatoes signal the ideal moment to remove from the oven, preventing dry or mushy results.
- Give Flavors Time: Letting the dish rest transforms individual ingredients into a harmonious, cohesive masterpiece with deeper, more developed taste profiles.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner, Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 455 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 370 mg
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated Fat: 21 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 120 mg