Ingredients

Method

• 5 medium potatoes 
• 2 cups milk (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream) 
• ½ t salt 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 celery stick, chopped 
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 6 whole black peppercorns 
• ¼ t grated fresh nutmeg 
• 6 T butter 
• 3 T cake flour 
• 1 ½ cups grated Cheddar cheese 
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
• 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced 
• a small handful grated mozzarella
• a small handful grated Parmesan
• 6 rashers rindless bacon, fried until crispy, then chopped into bits (optional) 

Method

Ingredients

1. Boil the whole potatoes in salted water for 15–20 minutes until tender. Allow to cool, then peel and slice thinly.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

3. In a small saucepan, mix the milk, salt, bay leaf, celery, thyme, peppercorns and nutmeg. Slowly bring to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain the infused milk.

4. To make the cheese sauce, place a pan over medium heat. Add 3 T butter, allow to melt, then add the flour to the pan all at once. Stir well to remove any lumps.

5. Keep stirring until the flour is just turning golden and dry, with a biscuity smell. Add the infused milk to the pan in a constant stream, whisking continuously. Keep whisking until the sauce starts to thicken and is smooth. Add about two-thirds of the Cheddar and stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Season to taste.

6. In a clean pan over a medium heat, fry the onion in 2 T butter until soft, golden and caramelised. Use the remaining 1 T butter to grease a baking dish.

7. Layer half the potato slices in the base of the dish. Season lightly. Cover with the onion, spoon over a third of the cheese sauce, then sprinkle with the mozzarella.

8. Cover with the remaining potato slices in overlapping circles. Top with the remaining cheese sauce, and sprinkle over the remaining Cheddar and the Parmesan.

9. Bake for about 1 hour, until the top is lightly browned and the sauce is bubbling. If you like, garnish with hot, crispy bacon bits and a pinch of ground nutmeg.

Find more potato recipes here

Extracted with permission from Recipes to Die Live For: A Tannie Maria Cookbook by Sally Andrew. The book is published by Penguin Random House South Africa

Photographer: Ed O'Riley