Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup) 1 cup panko bread crumbs 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 6 tablespoons cut into 6 pieces Salt and pepper 2½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks 3 cups light cream, divided (may substitute heavy cream but not half-and-half, which tends to break) 1/8 teaspoon baking soda (for stability and silkiness)
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Directions: |
Directions:1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. In a small bowl, combine Parmesan, panko, 4 tablespoons melted butter and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside. 3. In a large saucepan, combine the potato chunks, 2½ cups light cream, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper (you'll think that this is too much salt. You'll be tempted to use less. Don't do it. Follow the recipe. The sauce will be salty, but in the end the potatoes will be perfection). 4. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. The potatoes will want to stick, so stir them frequently. Reduce the heat to low and cook at a bare simmer, still stirring often, until a paring knife slides easily into several potato chunks without the potatoes crumbling apart, 20 to 25 minutes. 5. You don't want the potatoes mushy. As soon as the biggest chunks yield easily to the knife, get them off the heat and stir in the remaining ½ cup of cream and the remaining 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Keep stirring until the butter has melted, about 1 minute. 6. Pour the creamy potato mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. (You'll want to butter the dish, but you don't have to.) 7. Sprinkle the Parmesan-panko mixture evenly over the top. Bake, uncovered, until the potatoes are bubbling and the crumb topping is nicely browned, around 15-20 minutes. Let the potatoes cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. |