Potatoes Au Gratin with Bacon and Leeks

Servings: servings

Calories: 470cal

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray the bottom of a 13x9 pan with cooking spray.
Peel potatoes and slice into thin rounds, about 1/4-inch thick. Place slices into a bowl of cold water until ready to use.
3 pounds Russet potatoes
In a large bowl, whisk together half and half, chicken broth, horseradish sauce, and Dijon mustard.
1 cup half and half, 1 cup chicken broth, 3 Tablespoons horseradish sauce, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Place 1/3 of the sliced potatoes into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Pour 1/3 of the broth mixture over the potatoes.
Sprinkle 1/3 of each of the shredded cheeses over the top.
Repeat these layers two more times.
If you would like to season the potatoes, you can sprinkle some garlic salt and pepper onto the last potato layer.
Bake uncovered, 1 hour, until potatoes are fork tender and top is golden brown.
While the potatoes are baking, cook bacon and drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble or chop the bacon slices.
3 slices bacon
In 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease or olive oil, sauté the leek rounds then drain on paper towels.
1 leek
Pull potatoes out with about 5 minutes of cook time left and top with bacon and leeks. Put back in the oven for the remaining time.
Cool 10 minutes before serving. Sauce may seem a little thin but it will thicken up as it cools!

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For the leeks, you will use all of the white part and a little of the green.
We use a mandoline to slice our potatoes. This ensures our slices are of even thickness. A food processor with a slicing attachment can also be used. You can also use a sharp knife, just try to get the slices as close to the same thickness as you can.
Use a good quality block and shred it yourself. Prebagged cheese tends to make the sauce gritty. We used Gruyere and Fontina, but you can substitute with your favorite combination. Gruyere, Parmesan, sharp cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheese are all great options.
If you like, you can season all 3 layers of potatoes. Cheese can be salty, and because of that element, we chose to only season the top layer. You can always season to taste when they are done, but you can’t take salt back off!

Course: Sides

Cuisine: American

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20