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Healthy ham and cheese 'tater bake

A few weeks ago, I was so moved by April of a 21st Century Housewife’s post about her Mum’s Scalloped Potatoes that I decided to feature it on my I Tried It At a Moderate Life for Thoughts on Friday. I absolutely loved that recipe, but after taking just one bite, something happened to me.

I was transported back in time. The very flavors and textures of that dish reminded me of one my own family used to make pretty regularly, but it was not my own mother, and for the life of me, we can’t remember which relative it was! Everyone remembers the flavor, but not the author and this is why it is SO important to document recipes and share the source with family members instead of keeping things as a “family secret”. I would have had so much fun sending a message to the person who first served this to our family, and maybe still someone will come forward and claim it as their own. Until then, I simply remembered the flavors, intuitively creating a recipe based on my culinary instincts. Again, I was a bit nervous about that, but once it was in the oven and I could smell the aroma, and then taking my first bite, I knew that I had again discovered the secret code for another wonderful healthy recipe!

Healthy Ham and Cheese ‘Tater Bake

Serves 4-6

5-6 Large waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold or Red, washed, unpeeled and sliced very thin. Using a mandolin may work best for this job.

1 Large sweet onion sliced

2 Cups cooked pastured ham, cubed

1/4 Cup whole wheat flour

2 Cups shredded Swiss cheese or other sharp cheese

1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 Cup (or more) whole milk

1/4 Cup butter cut into cubes

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a deep casserole dish with butter. Arrange potatoes in a thick layer at the bottom of the pan and layer with onions, ham and cheese.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then shake on 1 Tbs. of flour across the layer. Repeat the layers at least one more time, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Sprinkle on more salt and pepper and then dot chunks of butter over all. Carefully pour in the milk until it just reaches 1 inch below the casserole lip. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil or a casserole lid and bake for 1 hour. You may need to put foil in the bottom of your oven to avoid boil over drips of milk from burning in the bottom of the oven. Remove foil and cook for another 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

This can also be converted to a vegetarian recipe by omitting the ham and using either 1 cup of baby peas along with the cheese, or 1 cup of chopped dark greens like kale or spinach, cut into small pieces, blanched and drained well.

Everyone in my family loved this heartwarming dish and I will definitely be making it again. It was filling and tasty, and the left overs kept well. It reminded me of a type of lasagna using potato slices instead of pasta and would work as a gluten free recipe as well if you used natural, uncured pastured ham.

So, I wrote it down on a piece of paper, and in it goes to the Alex’s Healthy Stuff file. One of these days, all these scraps will be converted to neatly written recipe cards in a box, or better yet, maybe I will just write a healthy recipes cookbook!

This recipe is a part of the 12 Days of Bloggie-mas,  the Hearth and Soul Hop-Volume 21, and Tailgating Time. Please check out my other featured blog hop recipes.