Souper Scalloped Potatoes
I found this recipe in The Pantry Cookbook and made some changes to it. It's a good way to use leftover baked potatoes.
I found this recipe in The Pantry Cookbook and made some changes to it. It's a good way to use leftover baked potatoes.
- Carbohydrate 37.065635 g
- Cholesterol 35.45975 mg
- Fat 14.50618 g
- Fiber 3.98265008929744 g
- Protein 12.6336 g
- Saturated Fat 7.3019285 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (297g)
- Sodium 810.6495 mg
- Sugar 33.0829849107026 g
- Trans Fat 1.41261275 g
- Calories 326 calories
Step-by-step
- In a small saucepan, place the onion and the bouilllon granules.
- Add 3/4 cup of water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer until onions are tender.
- While the onions are cooking, peel and thinly slice the potatoes, placing them in a large bowl.
- Add soup and milk to the onion mixture.
- Season with salt and pepper,and add 3/4 cup of the grated cheese.
- Stir until melted.
- Pour sauce over potatoes and toss until all the potatoes are coated.
- Transfer the potatoes to a baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and cover with foil.
- Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly (approximately 30 minutes).
Bubbling golden cheese surrounds tender rounds of potato, blanketed in a thick, savory sauce that clings to every slice. Achieving the right texture in this dish relies entirely on moisture control and starch management. Pre-baked potatoes chilled overnight undergo retrogradation, a process where starch molecules recrystallize, making the flesh firmer and less prone to crumbling when sliced thinly.
Mastering Sauce and Starch Integration
Simmering the onions in three-quarters of a cup of water with chicken bouillon granules softens their cellular structure before they enter the baking dish, preventing raw, crunchy pockets in the final casserole. Incorporating grated cheddar directly into the warm soup and milk mixture melts the dairy solids smoothly, creating an emulsion rather than a separated, greasy pool. Covering the baking dish with foil for the initial thirty minutes at 350 degrees traps steam, ensuring the potatoes cook through entirely without scorching the surface dairy. Removing the foil during the final minutes allows excess surface moisture to evaporate, yielding optimal browning.
- Sauce breaks down into oil: Reduce the heat when melting the cheese, as temperatures exceeding 160 degrees Fahrenheit cause dairy proteins to tighten and expel fat.
- Potatoes turn mushy: Ensure the potatoes are thoroughly chilled before slicing; warm tubers release excess free starch that breaks down the sauce consistency.
