Leek And Potato Gratin

This is comfort food, plain and simple. It's great to make on days when you don't want to be stuck in the kitchen and can make something that just cooks in the oven while you do other things. There are a lot of variations of this classic, we like leek with cheddar best but any cheese will do, or none at all and add a little extra salt and another clove of garlic.

Time it Will Take

15 minutes hands on, 1 hour total

 Ingredients

1T Butter or Margarine
1 Clove Garlic
3lbs Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
2 leeks white part only rinsed well and chopped
4 cups milk
1 Bay Leaf (optional)
1T fresh rosemary or Thyme (optional)
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1c cheese (Cheddar, Gruyere, or 1/3c Parmesan)

Directions

Use some of the butter to grease the inside of a large baking dish. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large pot or dutch oven combine milk, herbs if using, potatoes, leeks, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Strain out potatoes but save the milk mixture.

Layer potatoes and cheese alternating until you run out of ingredients or the dish is 3/4 full, ending with a potatoe layer. Pour milk until it just covers the top layer of potatoes. Dot with remaining butter and bake until golden brown for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.