Maggie Monday: Sweet Onion Potatoes Au Gratin

It never fails. As soon as I decide to cut out carbs, Maggie sends something as tempting as the dish below. I guess I’ll just have to drool on my laptop. Here’s Maggie…

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I’ve had hanging around a few months, meaning to try. Today was the day, and it is a keeper!  This is a really easy recipe, and dresses up mashed potatoes into something pretty decadent. Mashed potatoes are always great. This makes them almost sinful.

You could put caramelized onions on shoe leather, and I’d love it. Add heavy cream, parmesan and Gruyere cheeses, and it becomes a gourmet dish.

It only took me about 30 minutes start to finish to make this dish, so that is another reason to keep this recipe handy. The cheese on top begins to harden so you might want to leave this in the oven if everyone is not eating at once. It would be lovely in individual gratin dishes too- if you really want to get all fancy-like.

The family loved this one, so we will be seeing it again!

Sweet Onion Potatoes Au Gratin

What you need:

2 Tb butter

1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

½ tsp ground thyme

2 lbs potatoes, washed, cut into pieces ( I used Yukon Gold)

2/3 cup heavy cream

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ pound brick Gruyere or Swiss, shredded

What you do:

Place potatoes in a large pot of water. Boil until tender. ( I leave skins on) While potatoes are cooking, place butter in a skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, pepper and thyme. Coat with melted butter, then continue cooking until very soft and lightly caramelized, about 20 minutes. When potatoes are done, drain, and mash by hand in the pot, adding cream and parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler.

Grease a 2 quart baking dish, and place mashed potatoes in the dish. Top the potatoes with the shredded cheese and onions. Place under the hot broiler until hot and bubbly- about 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot.