Potato gratin with leek and Frisian clove cheese (nagelkaas)
You taste nagelkaas straight away: cloves and cumin are in the cheese itself. In this oven dish it melts between thin slices of potato and soft leek. That is why the rest of the seasoning stays modest: a clove of garlic, a pinch of nutmeg and some pepper in the milk.
Editorial team Holland Magazine ·
Frisian nagelkaas is cheese with cloves and cumin in it. This gratin is inspired by that cheese: our own recipe with the cheese as the main flavouring, not a traditional Frisian dish.
Times are guidelines; preheat during preparation where possible. Allow extra time to cool food before storing it.
Equipment
Large pan, frying pan, ovenproof dish of about 30 × 20 cm and grater.
Ingredients
- 1000 g waxy potatoes
- 400 g leeks, weighed after trimming
- 20 g unsalted butter, plus 5 g for greasing
- 250 ml whole milk
- 150 ml whipping cream
- 1 clove garlic, about 4 g
- 150 g matured Frisian nagelkaas (clove cheese), grated
- 4 g salt
- 0.5 g grated nutmeg
- 0.5 g ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C, conventional (top and bottom heat), and grease the dish. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3 mm slices. Rinse the leeks well and cut them into 1 cm rings.
- Melt 20 g butter in the frying pan and sweat the leeks over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes until soft.
- In the large pan, bring the milk, cream, crushed garlic, salt, nutmeg and pepper almost to the boil. Add the potato slices and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes; stir carefully so nothing catches. The slices should not yet be cooked through.
- Spoon half the potatoes with some of the liquid into the dish. Spread the leeks and half the cheese over them. Layer the rest of the potatoes on top, pour over the remaining liquid and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a knife slides through the potatoes without resistance. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Storage
Cool leftovers within 2 hours and keep them covered in the fridge at 4 °C. Eat within 2 days. Reheat once until steaming hot all the way through.
Allergens
Milk.
Our own adaptation for home cooking, not kitchen-tested. Times are guidelines; check the result described in the method.