Time: 1 1/2 hours
Feeds: 2 people (with leftovers)
Ingredients:
- 6 Yukon gold potatoes
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 cups whole milk, plus more if needed
- 4 oz gouda cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 lb asparagus
- 2 tbsp butter
- The zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp capers, plus some of their brine
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Red chili flakes, to taste
- 2 8 oz ham steaks (we like the Smithfield Farms brand)
- 2 tbsp butter
Directions: Start with assembling the scalloped potatoes so they have time to bake. Preheat the oven to 375 convection or 400 traditional and begin by making the béchamel for the potatoes. In a medium-large sauce pan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter until starting to bubble and sizzle. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Let cook for a minute or two to cook off the raw flour flavor and then start adding the milk. I like to add mine in batches so I can control the thickness and ensure that there aren’t any clumps. Once all of the 3 cups of milk are added, reduce the heat slightly to medium-low and simmer until thickened to your liking. It doesn’t need to be super thick, but it should have some body to it. Remove the béchamel from the heat and stir in the gouda cheese. Once melted, set aside and work on the potatoes.
Peel all of your potatoes and then decide how you want to handle slicing them. The key to scalloped potatoes are that they’re thinly sliced so it’s best to do this however you’re most comfortable. You could use a mandolin or the slicing blade of a food processor. I like to slice my potatoes with a knife. I find that it is the quickest and it doesn’t dirty another dish which is the most important in my opinion. Line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and then spray all over with cooking spray. Start with a layer of potatoes and then follow that with a layer of béchamel. If the béchamel had gotten too thick while sitting, you’re welcome to add a bit more milk as needed. Continue layering the potatoes and béchamel, ending on a layer of béchamel. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and put in the oven for about 45 minutes. The potatoes should be fork tender and the top should be nicely browned. If the top is getting too dark for your liking, you can finish baking the potatoes covered in foil.
When the potatoes are about 15 minutes away from being finished, you can start with the other portions of the meal. Prepare your asparagus by snapping off and discarding the ends and then snapping the rest of the stalk in half. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet and add the asparagus once melted and starting to sizzle. Add in the lemon zest, capers, about 2 tablespoons of their brine, and the red chili flakes. Sautée for 5 or so minutes until the asparagus is bright green and cooked but still a little snappy. Finish by seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking. Be careful though – the brine and capers are salty so it’s easy to over salt in this instance.
Once you have the asparagus sautéing, you can start with cooking the ham steaks. Since these are already fully cooked, we’ll just be searing them for some color and to heat them through. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and add the ham steaks once it’s hot and sizzling. Flip the steaks every 2-3 minutes or so to get even color on them and for even heating. Once they’re seared to your liking, remove them and plate everything up!
Notes: This is a great dinner for a special occasion like Easter, another holiday, or anniversary. The best part is that the sides are so versatile that you can swap out different proteins to fit the occasions. Even the asparagus can be exchanged for another green vegetable if it’s not in season.