Name: Ham and Scalloped Potato Casserole
Yield: 8
Ingredients: ¼ cup unsalted butter; 1 cup diced yellow onion; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; 2 cups heavy cream; 2 cups whole milk; 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, or to taste; ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves; 4 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick; 8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar cheese; 1 pound thinly sliced ham

Ham and Scalloped Potato Casserole

Tags: Dinner Ham

Yield: 8

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar cheese
1 pound thinly sliced ham

Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, just to take off that starchy, raw edge, about 2 minutes. Pour in heavy cream and whisk to combine. Whisk in milk. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until it just starts to simmer and thicken up. Add 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and cayenne. Grate in nutmeg.
Turn off heat. Stir in Worcestershire and fresh thyme leaves. Reserve until needed.
Cover the bottom of a deep 10x15-inch casserole dish with about 25% of the reserved sauce. Add a layer of sliced potatoes, seasoning the tops with some of the remaining salt as desired; ladle over 1/3 of the sauce and sprinkle over 1/3 of the grated Cheddar cheese. Layer in ½ of the sliced ham.
Place another layer of sliced potatoes on top and season with salt. Ladle over ½ of the remaining sauce; repeat layering with Cheddar cheese and ham.
Place last layer of potatoes on top. Ladle over remaining sauce and spread out with a spatula. Sprinkle over remaining Cheddar cheese.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven until browned, bubbling, and potatoes are very tender, about 1 ½ hours. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Notes

You can use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme instead of fresh.
Gruyere, or any other melty cheese, will work instead of Cheddar.
The ingredient amounts and cooking time are for a deep 10x15-inch casserole pan. If recipe is scaled down, this can be adapted for a smaller 9x13-inch pan, but will be cooked in less time.
If the top of the casserole is getting too browned before the potatoes are tender, cover with foil.