Greetings my friends, I hope you're all doing well and have started this week with lots of positive energy and a desire to keep going. Today I'm here to share with everyone my entry for the weekly contest offered by the Qurator team, Qurator's: Hive Top Chef! | Oven Meals, 'for this week, we had to prepare a baked dish. At first I thought of a dessert, but then I decided on a dish that I love, it's very common in my country (Venezuela). I'm talking about some delicious au gratin potatoes with mozzarella cheese and béchamel sauce. The flavor of this dish is exquisite, the combination of potatoes, cheese, and cream, I think it's perfect. This time, I changed the recipe a bit. I wanted to add a little seasoning, which really gave it a special touch. Let's start with the step-by-step instructions.
Gratin potatoes with cheese and béchamel cream.
Ingredients:
3 potatoes.
150 g mozzarella cheese.
1 tablespoon butter.
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
350 ml milk.
Half a red bell pepper, a sprig of leek, a sprig of celery, and 1 clove of garlic.
Salt and pepper to taste.
2 or 3 bay leaves (optional).
Procedure:
1- First, chop the vegetables into small cubes and crush the garlic. Sauté in a preheated pan. Add the garlic first, then the rest of the ingredients. Let it cook for several minutes, until they are well-sautéed.
2- While the vegetables are cooking, remove the skin from the potatoes and cut them into slices. Set aside in a bowl with water and a little salt.
3- Drain the water from the potatoes and add them to another bowl. When the sauce is ready, add it to the potatoes and mix well with the sauce. Set aside.
4- Next, we'll prepare the béchamel sauce. Add the butter to a preheated pot over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the flour and stir until well combined. Then, add the milk and bay leaves, stirring. Add salt and pepper, and continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
5- Once the cream is ready, we can assemble our dish in a baking dish. Add a small layer of cream, then a layer of potato slices, arranged in an orderly manner, then more cream, mozzarella cheese, and so on. Finally, finish with a layer of cream, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Bake for approximately 45 minutes.
6- Once the time has passed, remove from the oven, let it rest, serve, and enjoy this delicious dish. If you have bacon or ham, you can also add it, and it will give it even more flavor.
Now I'm off, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. Leave me a comment if you've already tried it. See you next time. Blessings.
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