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Serves: 8-10, easily halved
Prep time: 55 mins
Total time:
Recipe photograph by Stuart West
Recipe by Sarah Cook
This mac-n-cheese-meets-dauphinoise dish is great as a side, but can easily double up as a main served with a crisp green salad on the side
Serves: 8-10, easily halved
Prep time: 55 mins
Total time:
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Sides Make ahead Potatoes Christmas Roasts Cheese
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
531Kcal
Fat
34gr
Saturates
19gr
Carbs
39gr
Sugars
6gr
Fibre
4gr
Salt
2.3gr
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
See more of Sarah Cook’s recipes
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
See more of Sarah Cook’s recipes
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Ingredients
- 1.75kg large, waxy potatoes(we used Vivaldi)
- 12 rashers dry-cure smoked streaky bacon, snipped
- 50g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
- 40g plain flour
- 400ml semi- skimmed milk
- 250ml chicken or vegetable stock (made with ½ stock cube)
- 200ml double cream
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes
- 200g mature cheddar, grated
- 1 small onion (or a few shallots), very finely sliced, preferably using a mandoline
Step by step
Get ahead
Prep, cover and chill for up to 48 hours prior to baking. Allow an extra 15-20 minutes cooking time from chilled, or until piping hot throughout.
- Peel and cut the potatoes into 4-5mm-thick slices. Bring two big saucepans of water to the boil, add half the potato slices to each, and as soon as the water starts boiling again, set your timer for 3 minutes. Quickly drain into a colander.
- Meanwhile, put the bacon rashers and butter in a large frying pan together (one big enough to hold a litre of sauce eventually) and over a low-medium heat, fry gently until the bacon is just beginning to darken and crisp up. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the bacon into a bowl. If there are any brown bits in the pan, tip the butter through a (metal) sieve, wipe the pan clean, then return the strained butter.
- Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then slowly whisk in the milk and stock to a smooth sauce. Add the cream and salt and bring to a simmer. Bubble gently for 2 minutes while stirring. Check the seasoning to taste.
- Use a little butter to grease a large baking dish (about 20 x 30cm). Layer up the potatoes, sauce, cheese, onion and bacon, reserving a third each of the sauce, cheese and bacon for the top layer.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Bake on a tray, uncovered, for 55 minutes or until tender, bubbling hot and golden brown. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with
