Potato Kugel with Cream Cheese, Chives, and Walnuts
Created this when looking for a potato casserole that could stand on its own as a weeknight supper. It’s filling comfort food without being too heavy. The nutmeg in the creamy sauce and the toasted walnuts take the flavor up a couple of notches.
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive-oil
8 oz cream cheese with chives, softened
4 oz Swiss cheese, diced into 1/4-inch cubes 1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
6 medium red potatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp salt and pepper (or to taste)
1 pinch garlic powder
Procedure
1 In a medium sauce pan, sauté the walnuts in the butter. Drain on paper towel, season with salt, pepper and garlic and set aside. Wipe the sauce pan clean.
2 Using the same saucepan, saute the garlic and shallots in the olive oil over medium heat.
3 Reduce the heat and stir in the cream cheese until melted.
4 Add the half and half and stir until blended.
5 Add the swiss cheese and stir until melted.
6 Season with the nutmeg. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed.
7 Slice the red potatoes about 1/8 inch thick.
8 Coat the bottom of a small oval casserole with a bit of olive oil.
9 Arrange half the potato slices, slightly overlapping.
10 Pour half the sauce over the potatoes.
11 Repeat with the remaining potatoes and sauce,
12 Cover the dish tightly with foil, place it on a foil covered cookie sheet and bake at 350 for one hour.
13 Remove the foil, and briefly broil the casserole until lightly browned.
14 Top with the reserved toasted walnuts.
15 Serve with a green salad and a crisp white wine.
Servings: 4
Yield: serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main course
Degree of Difficulty: Moderately difficult
Oven Temperature: 350°F
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Recipe Type
Gluten-Free, Main Dish, Potatoes, Pasta, and Grains, Side Dish, Vegetarian
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