Charred Poblano Au Gratin Potatoes

Sometimes I want a big bowl of macaroni and cheese for dinner (and trust me, I'm working on a killer recipe), or a heaping plate of mashed potatoes. There is a middle ground here that people don't make all that often. Au gratin potatoes!!! Thin potatoes, layered with a creamy cheese sauce and baked until its bubbly and delicious. I want a little break from the norm of cheddar cheese everything, and I had a big block of monterey jack on hand. You would be surprised how subtle two ingredients like a pepper and your cheese can drastically change a dish. Give it a try to use up leftovers!

Au Gratin Potatoes

Granted that this picture does not have the peppers in it, but I just couldn't find one, and this was the closest thing too. Speaking of peppers, charring the poblano gives the dish a little bit of a smoky feel, and adds some fruity heat to the dish that is too good to pass up. This dish does have a lot of chopping involved, but once your prep work is done, assembly is very easy.

Potatoes Gratin:

3 white potatoes, rinsed with skin on, sliced in thin slices

1/2 small onion, sliced thin into half moons

2 green onions, sliced thin without the white ends

3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

1 poblano pepper

Creamy cheese sauce:

2 1/2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1 to 1 1/4 cup milk

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cumin

Fresh cracked black pepper

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (or colby jack, or pepper jack, any kind of jack)

Preheat your broiler. Put your pepper on a baking sheet, and broil until charred all over, about 3 minutes per side. On a side note, my broiler sucks, so yours might be quicker. Keep an eye out! Wrap it in plastic wrap for about five minutes so you can steam the skin. Set your oven to 400. The chopping begins! Chop or slice all your potatoes, garlic, and onions. Next, take a spoon or the back of your knife and peel the skin off of your pepper. Chop the stem off and open it up so it lays flat on your board. Peel out all the seeds, and dice the flesh to whatever size you want. You're going to put a layer of potatoes, and a third of your onions, garlic, and peppers. You continue this until you finish with a fourth layer of potatoes on top. So you should have, potatoes, veggies, potatoes, veggies, potatoes, veggies, potatoes. I also think its a good idea to put a little sprinkle of salt and pepper in between each layer so you're not missing any flavor. 

For the sauce, melt your butter in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir in your flour and cook for a minute or so until no raw flour remains. Slowly stir in one cup of milk and turn your heat to medium. Add in your seasonings, and stir until it thickens, about four to five minutes. Add your cheese in and stir until melted. This is where you may need to adjust your milk. If the sauce is thick like macaroni and cheese sauce, you should add a little more milk because it will thicken in the oven. If your sauce is fine, pour it over the potatoes, cover with foil, and pop it in the oven for an hour and a half. Take foil off for the last fifteen minutes of cooking so it can brown slightly. Talk about delicious! This one was better than my main dish. Crowd pleaser for sure  :D