Scalloped Potatoes and Bacon (Milk, Cheese and Broth)

Potatoes are my favourite food. It might be a little unconventional, but it is true. Mashed potatoes. Baked potatoes. French fries. Crispy potatoes. The list goes on and on. However, homemade scalloped potatoes has to be one of my all-time favourite ways to enjoy potatoes. There is that little crisp on top, it’s creamy and there is cheese and bacon. Perfection.

Potatoes:
6-8 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 small onion, diced
3 Tbsp. butter, diced
2 cups cheese, freshly grated
1-2 cups cooked ham, cubed
1 pkg bacon, cooked and crumbled (375 g)
dried thyme
ground paprika
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Sauce:
¼ cup butter
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 cup bone broth
1 cup milk
3 cloves garlic, minced
⅛ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

In a cast iron skillet, fry the cut up pieces of bacon. You want the bacon to have a slight crisp to them. Cut the raw bacon up with scissors to make it easier and cook faster.

Remove the bacon bits from the pan.

Sauté the diced onion in the bacon grease over medium-low heat. Remove the onion from the pan when they are translucent. Put it in a bowl and set it aside.

Add a ¼ cup of butter to a clean skillet and melt it over low heat.

Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and let them brown for 30-60 seconds. Stir in 3 Tbsp. of flour. Wait for it to smell nutty. Roughly 60 seconds.

In a measuring cup, combine the milk and bone broth.

Add the milk and bone broth mixture in small amounts to the skillet while stirring constantly. As you add the liquid, it will thicken into a sauce.

Once all the liquid is added, simmer until the sauce thickens to a gravy consistency and then turn off the heat. Make sure you do not boil the sauce.

Then, stir in ¼ tsp. of salt, ⅛ tsp. of cayenne pepper and a pinch of pepper.

Next, assemble the scalloped potatoes by layering the potatoes, a sprinkling of the seasonings, onions, ham, bacon, cheese, and butter.

Continue layering until you have used up all of your potato slices or run out of space in your dish.

On the top layer, add your bacon bits on top of the cheese.

Next, slowly pour your sauce over the entire dish.

Cover your dish with foil.

Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Then, uncover the scalloped potatoes and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the top is browned and it can be easily pierced with a fork.

Allow the dish to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.