All Hail the Cheese

Look. We've been totally transparent about our love affair with cheese. It is  life. We're not going to pretend to be a connoisseur. Or a cheesemonger. Or whatever they call people who know cheese. Like, really know cheese.

Emmi Roth took home 12 awards at the 2019 World Cheese Awards-- including two Super Gold Awards.

Well, hot-melty-damn!
​
Find some Emmi Roth and celebrate by making this recipe using Super Gold Award-winner Emmi Le Gruyere AOP.
​

​Smashed Potato Gratin

Ingredients:
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 ounces Emmi Le Gruyère AOP cheese, shredded

Directions:
Heat oven to 425F. Place potatoes on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Adjust oven to 400F. Butter 1 1/2- or 2-quart baking dish. Quarter potatoes and smash into 1- to 2-inch pieces. In sauce pan, combine cream, bay leaf, fresh thyme, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf and thyme.

​In prepared baking dish, arrange half of potato pieces in single layer, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with half of shredded cheese and half of cream mixture. Add remaining potato pieces skin side up. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with remaining cream mixture and cheese. Bake uncovered 40 minutes. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.

---