Scalloped Potato Clouds

Pareve or for Chicken, Prepared Stove-Top

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I love creamy scalloped potatoes or potato gratin.

The problem is inherent in the word, “creamy.”  They can only be served with fish or as part of a vegetarian entrée for the dish to be kosher, and I wanted to serve them with poultry. The other problem is that they need to bake for an hour and a half, and I just didn’t have that much time.

I developed this recipe to be served with This Menu. I was looking for something to represent clouds on the plate (ok, they were yellow-tinged clouds, due to the chicken stock…no one is perfect) that included Cornish Game Hens with a Savory Red Wine Raspberry Sauce and Roasted Asparagus with Orange Walnut Gremolata. These stovetop scalloped potatoes also great for those people who avoid dairy. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

I used chicken stock for the sauce, but you could absolutely make it with no-chicken stock or vegetable stock. Chicken schmaltz adds a flavor that is both delicious and “very Jewish,” but you could swap it out for a fruity olive oil, walnut oil, or any fruit or nut oil of your choosing. The addition of white wine adds another layer of flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand you can just omit it.

If you have a cast iron pan, that’s perfect, but any heavy oven-proof skillet will do. Although they cook on top of the stove, I like to run them under the broiler at the end, to brown the top.

Scalloped Potato Clouds

Ingredients:

• 6 medium (2½ to 3 pounds) Russet or Idaho potatoes

• 2 medium yellow onions, finely diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• 4 chicken schmaltz or olive oil, divided

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons white wine

• 1½ cups chicken or vegetable stock

• The leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or tarragon (dill is also nice)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

• Peel potatoes and slice them as thinly as possible. Use a mandolin if you like. As each potato is sliced, drop the slices into a bowl of cold water to keep them from turning brownl

• Warm 2 tablespoons of schmaltz (what a great flavor this adds!) or olive oil in a medium, oven-safe skillet. Cast iron is best, if you have one.

• Add the diced onion to the pan with a tiny pinch of kosher salt and sauté the onion until it’s soft and translucent. Don’t let it brown.

• Add the garlic, stir, and cook for 30 seconds more. Then remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.

• In a small sauce pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of schmaltz or oil. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the flour loses that “raw” look. Then. add the wine and cook, stirring, until it is almost completely evaporated.

• Add stock and the herbs and simmer, stirring, until the sauce becomes somewhat thick. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, if needed.

• Drain the potato slices and add them to the pan with the onions. Toss them gently to coat them well with the onion mixture, but be careful not to break the slices. I find my hands are the best tools for the job.

• Spread the potato slices out evenly in the pan. Pour the sauce over all, and cover the pan.

• Cook, covered and undisturbed, for about 20 minutes, over medium—low heat. Then remove the cover and test the potatoes with a fork. If they’re not yet tender, re-cover them and cook a bit more. They should still be quite saucy, but if they’re getting dry, pour a little more stock over them.

• Cook open on the stove top until the sauce is thick. Then slide the pan into the oven and broil until the surface starts to turn golden, and perhaps a bit charred in places. Don’t let it burn.

• Remove from oven and serve in wedges or in strips.