This potato bake is a pleasure to cook.
Grab a bunch of staples and elevate them with few extra ingredients to add a splash of ‘oh wow’ when you bite into it. It might look like a simple potato bake but I promise you, it is not!
Now, for the lighthearted, this is not a recipe for you. It has a solid dose of butter, oil, cheese, double cream and Béchamel sauce so if you are watching calories or trying to hit your macros, this is not the right recipe for today. This one, is all about the pleasure of embracing the cold season. There is something truly comforting about dinner slowly simmering in the oven, all the flavours coming together and filling the house with its gentle warmth. And I am all for it!
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Aromatics for your potato bake
This could be a fairly simple potato bake edging on being boring. But! We are about to prevent that. With just a few aromatics you will take it from ‘all right’ to a ‘oh wow’ potato bake.
Truffle oil
Definitely the key ingredient in this potato bake. We use if for the sauce layer and then we infuse our quick Béchamel sauce with it. If you are lucky enough to have some dried truffle powder, feel free to add it too. I presume most of people will be able to get oil version. Just be careful, some cheaper ‘oils’ will charge you extra for essentially no truffle flavour at all. Make sure to get a decent quality one.
I bought this one from M&S and it’s quite pleasing.
Fresh rosemary
You could skip it or swap it for fresh thyme if you don’t have access to fresh herbs.
Blue cheese
If you love its sharp flavour, feel free to add more than I did. I was being modest so that the truffle oil would have a chance of standing out but please change the recipe for this potato bake to suit your tastebuds.
Loads of garlic!
3 cloves of garlic is a moderate version, you can absolutely add more. In the Cold season it could be your excuse to indulge in this meal- never mind the atrocious amount of fat, the garlic is going to keep you healthy or will boost your immune system when everyone else is sneezing and coughing. Am I right?
Is it difficult to cook this potato bake?
This truffle potato bake is a little more laborious than most things I cook. It takes the whole of 3 pots to prepare plus a baking dish so the sheer amount of washing up qualifies it to a ‘more effort’ category. I promise, there is nothing overwhelming though and it’s definitely worth it.
Is this potato bake a main meal?
I would say this potato bake makes a great side dish but with a portion of green salad it could be a great dinner too. I rarely eat particularly fatty meals so my body was screaming for a lettuce to balance it out. A simple French salad of greens and dijon vinaigrette would work really well here.
P.S. This is how I measure how many potatoes I should use.
Yes, potatoes would cook better if they were all of roughly the same size. I decided not to bother though and grabbed whatever produce I had at hand. Just make sure to cook them well enough before placing them in the baking dish and I promise you, you will be all right. Don’t tell professional chefs though, they would definitely not approve.
Truffle potato bake
Equipment
- 10 inch baking dish
- few cooking pots and bowls to have around
Ingredients
Base
- 120 g red lentils
- 1 red onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 150 ml double cream
- 100 g blue cheese
- 100 g mushrooms
- 150 ml white wine optional
- 50 g butter
- 3 tbsp truffle oil
- salt, black pepper
- a bunch of chopped fresh parsley
Potato layer
- 700 g potatoes
- a bunch of fresh rosemary
Béchamel sauce
- 50 g butter
- 50 g plain flour
- salt, pepper
- 1 tbsp truffle oil
Instructions
- Boil water in a pan and add red lentils. Cook for about 10 minutes until soft, drain and leave in a bowl on the side.
- Wash your potatoes and set them to cook with fresh rosemary in a big pot of boiling water. You don't have to peel them. Cook for about 20-30 minutes until nearly done. You should be able to pierce them fairly easily with a fork but they should be still holding together.
- In the meantime, melt butter in another pot and add chopped onions with a spoon of truffle oil. Cook them on a medium heat until fragrant and soft for about 15 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms, stir and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Once most of the water evaporated and mushroom stick to the bottom of the pan, pour in white wine to deglaze. Cook until all alcohol evaporates and the sauce reduces. Only then add double cream and cook for another few minutes until it starts to thicken. Add blue cheese, salt, black pepper, red lentils and parsley. Take off the heat and mix well, season until you are happy with it. Add a splash of truffle oil.
- When you potatoes are nearly boiled, drain them and set on the side to cool a bit. Then slice them at about 1-1.5 cm.
- Set the oven to 200 ℃.
- In another pot, melt the butter and add flour to make the roux. Cook for about 2 minutes, mixing constantly. Then add a splash of truffle oil and start pouring in milk of your choice slowly. Make sure to add just a bit at the time and mix thoroughly. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens. Initially it will feel like nothing is happening but keep being patient and keep stirring to avoid the lumps. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Now, put a layer of mushroom and red lentils sauce to the baking dish. Top with slices of prepared potatoes. Pour the Béchamel sauce on top and set in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is deliciously browned. Once it's baked, take it out of the oven and let it rest for just few minutes before you cut through it.
What do you think of this potato bake? let me know if you tried it! And if you are looking for more cozy meals to make at home, why don’t you try my sweet potato and cheddar soup?
