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Yumi Stynes' 'trick' potato bake recipe

Name: Easy potato bake recipe: our best-ever creamy, cheesy version
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2kg all-purpose potatoes; 1 teaspoon salt; Olive oil spray, for greasing; 300g sour cream; 250g grated cheddar; Pepper

6 ratings

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by Yumi Stynes

Sep 06, 2019

This easy potato bake recipe is one of those dishes a person can become known for – no kidding, my ex misses this dish more than me. Anyway, it’s really easy to put together but like most potato dishes, it can’t be rushed. Leaving the potato slices to soak in boiling water before baking is genius because it gives them a head-start on the cooking so you’re not stuck waiting around for ages for the middle to soften. We’ve all been there when someone’s painfully slow spud bake looks all golden on top but is still raw and hard inside. Not on my watch, not with my trick.

2kg all-purpose potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil spray, for greasing
300g sour cream
250g grated cheddar
Pepper

Method

1.

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Fill the kettle right to the limit with water and get it on to boil.
2.

Slice the potatoes on the thinnest setting of a mandoline. (A food processors slicing setting will also work but your slices wont be as wonderfully thin.)
3.

Transfer the potato slices to the largest bowl you own, sprinkle over the salt then pour over the boiling water straight from the kettle to cover. Wearing rubber gloves, give the potato slices a quick slosh in the water and spend a moment separating them so that they don’t stick together. Set aside.
4.

Fill up the kettle to the top again and put it on the boil again. Line a 23 × 30 cm ovenproof dish with baking paper and give the paper a spray with oil.
5.

Once the kettle has boiled, drain the potatoes in a colander, then return them to the bowl and pour over the freshly boiled water. Leave the potatoes to sit in the water for 4 minutes, then drain them very well and return them to the empty bowl. Add the sour cream and half the cheese, season lightly and toss together well to coat the potato slices evenly.
6.

Tip the potato slices into the prepared dish. You don’t need to arrange them neatly - it makes no diﬀerence and is a waste of time – but do spread them out evenly by feeling how they sit in the tray with your ﬁngers and rearranging as necessary. Top with the remaining cheese, transfer to the oven and bake for at least 45 minutes, or until its bubbling and looking golden and delicious on top.