An Easy Cheesy Potatoes Recipe Page

An easy cheesy potatoes recipe which is hard to beat!

Cheesy spuds just might be the ultimate comfort food! Easy, cheap and pretty healthy, too - especially if you are using organic ingredients.

Have a look at this French-ish recipe for baked potatoes and cheese with or without garlic.

This is a cheesy potatoes recipe which is very easy to make and very versatile. It's also delicious and, done well, can stand up to being brought out at dinner parties.

Cheesy potatoes can be so delicious, especially made with organic home grown spuds - a great treat for dark autumn evenings. This recipe is a kissing cousin of "Gratin Duphinoise", the traditional French recipe.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - about 2 lbs or a kilo
  
• milk - about half a pint or 250 ml
  
• cream - about half a pint or 250 ml
  
• cheese - cheddar, parmesan or other
  
• onions - one or two small ones or a shallot or two
  
• garlic - as much as you like - 2 or 3 cloves
  
• herbs - a small handful of fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, oregano, well chopped
  
• sea salt and pepper to taste

All the ingredients can be modified - even the potatoes.

Replace the cream with yogurt or cream cheese. You can even make this with soya milk or with sour milk. Use up slightly sour cream, too.

If you are on a low-fat diet or you want to reduce the calories in this recipe, try using a tasty vegetable stock with little or no cream or milk.

Parsley is tasty, as is a little rosemary.

The onions and garlic are optional but in my opinion garlic potatoes always have the edge and make a dish very tasty.

Any kind of potato can be used in this cheesy potatoes recipe. Desiree is good, or Maris Piper but really it does not matter. Waxy potatoes perhaps have the edge over floury ones, which are better if you are making mashed potatoes.

You can use a proportion of sweet potatoes in the mix.

You can also add a few seasonal veg to the mix if you like. A few sliced tomatoes on the top are nice.

This is one of those recipes which can be varied time and again to produce a slightly novel dish.

Method:

• Rub a deep oven dish with oil or butter.
• Slice the potatoes thinly and pop them into cold water while they wait for cooking - this stops them browning or rusting in the air.
• Prepare the onions and garlic by slicing them fairly small.
• Put the milk and cream (or stock) into a saucepan and heat it carefully just to the point where it is nearly boiling.
• Layer the potato slices into the bottom of the oven dish after draining the water and patting them dry. Now add some of the onions and garlic and herbs.
• Add more potatoes and keep alternating layers of potatoes and onions and cheese until the dish is full.
• Pour on the heated milk mixture (or stock mix). Finish off with a layer of grated cheese and a scattering of chopped herbs.
• Put the dish into a medium oven (about gas mark 4) for around 40 minutes or until the potatoes are well cooked.

You can add a lid for a more succulent version of this cheesy potatoes recipe, or you can leave the lid off and end up with a crispy topping.

Done well, you should get a dish which has something of both - lovely moist rich potatoes with crispy edges and bronzed cheese. Mmmm.

There are lots of inventive potato recipes in Potatoes: More than Mashed
There are lots of pictures showing step by step how each recipe is done and there are recipes from all over the world.

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Easy cheesy potatoes recipe page:
Cheese croquettes

Cheese croquettes are an easy cheesy potatoes recipe for using up left-over mashed or boiled potatoes. Here's how to make them.

Ingredients

• 1 lb (1/2 kilo) potatoes,
• boiled or mashed, sprinkle of any grated hard cheese,
• a small onion,
• 1 or 2 egg yolks,
• tablespoonful of flour,
• breadcrumbs

Method:

Chop the raw onion finely and add to the mashed potatoes.

Grate in a little hard cheese. Add in a little flour to help the mixture bind. Mix well. Use two spoons to extract a rounded lump of the mixture. Drop it into the beaten egg yolks and roll it about until it is well covered.

Now roll the croquette in the breadcrumbs, so that it is lightly covered.

Fry the croquette in a little oil. Turn frequently to prevent burning. Give the croquettes plenty of room so they are less likely to disintegrate. I find it helps to press them down so that they are not too thick - that way they cook better with less oil. They take about 10 minutes to cook.

Serve them hot with a nice healthy salad to salve your conscience for an otherwise fat-laden dish!

Making the breadcrumbs at home

You can make suitable breadcrumbs by leaving bread slices in the bottom of the oven when you cook something else. Take them out when they are crisp and dry and roll them in a clean cloth with a rolling pin. Store them in an air-tight jar until wanted.

This works best when the item you are cooking does not need a high temperature.

Another easy cheesy potatoes recipe:

Patatas bravas

This is a simple Spanish way to roast potatoes.

Ingredients:

• potatoes - 1 pound
• tomatoes - 5 or 6 medium tomatoes or a tin
• tomato puree - good squeeze
• onion - one large or two medium
• garlic - a few cloves, as desired
• paprika - a pinch
• salt and pepper
• olive oil or rapeseed oil for frying (2 tbsp)
• 1 small can of anchovies (optional)

Method:

Prepare a sauce from the onions, garlic, tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika, salt and pepper. First sweat the onions in a tablespoonful of oil over a low heat. Then add the other ingredients and cook for a few minutes. Set aside.

Cube the potatoes and pat dry. Heat a little oil in a shallow tray in the oven until it is good and hot (gas mark 6 or 7). Add salt if you like for a crisper, tastier result.

Tip the cubed potatoes into the hot oil. Roast them until cooked, turning occasionally to make sure they cook evenly. They will take around 30 minutes or more, depending on the size you cube them and the variety of potato.

If you want to use anchovies for a stronger flavour, just chop them finely and pulp them into the oil used for roasting the potatoes.

Serve the patatas bravas as a side dish or starter. Spoon the sauce on top and add salad on the side. Garnish with parsley or coriander leaves.

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