Creamy potato bake

Name: Creamy potato bake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) waxy or all-rounder potatoes, peeled and sliced 3 to 5 mm (1/8 to 1/4 inch) thick; 1 large onion, thinly sliced; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 500 ml (2 cups) cream, or 250 ml (1 cup) cream and 250 ml (1 cup) milk; 1 packet (about 50 g / 1.75 oz) brown onion soup powder, or 1 tablespoon beef or onion stock powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder and a pinch of sugar; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; Salt, only if the cream mixture needs it; 1 tablespoon butter for the dish; 150 g (1 1/2 cups) grated mature cheddar; 60 g (1/2 cup) breadcrumbs, optional; 150 g (1 cup) sliced mushrooms; 100 g (3.5 oz) streaky bacon, fried until crisp and chopped

Layers of thin potato and onion baked in cream and brown onion soup under a cheese crust, in the oven or a closed kettle braai.

Coals: Medium coals
Prep: 20 min
On the fire: 1 hr 10 min
Plan ahead: 10 minutes resting
Serves: 8

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3.3 lb) waxy or all-rounder potatoes, peeled and sliced 3 to 5 mm (1/8 to 1/4 inch) thick
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500 ml (2 cups) cream, or 250 ml (1 cup) cream and 250 ml (1 cup) milk
1 packet (about 50 g / 1.75 oz) brown onion soup powder, or 1 tablespoon beef or onion stock powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder and a pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt, only if the cream mixture needs it
1 tablespoon butter for the dish

Topping

150 g (1 1/2 cups) grated mature cheddar
60 g (1/2 cup) breadcrumbs, optional

Optional extras between the layers

150 g (1 cup) sliced mushrooms
100 g (3.5 oz) streaky bacon, fried until crisp and chopped

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F), or set up a kettle braai for indirect cooking with 20 to 25 briquettes on each side and the lid on until it reads 180 to 200°C (350 to 400°F). Butter a 32 x 21 cm (9 x 13 inch) dish.
Whisk the cream with the soup powder, thyme and pepper. Taste it. Add salt only if it needs it, because the soup powder is already salty.
Lay a layer of potato slices in the dish, overlapping slightly. Scatter over some onion, garlic and any mushrooms or bacon, then pour over a little of the cream mixture.
Repeat until everything is used, at least 4 layers, finishing with potato. Pour the remaining cream over the top and press the potatoes down so they sit under the liquid.
Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes in the oven, or in the centre of the kettle grid with the lid closed, until a knife slides through the middle with no resistance. In the kettle, turn the dish once halfway.
Take off the foil. Scatter over the cheese and breadcrumbs. Return it uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.
Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the cream sets and the bake slices cleanly.

Done when: a knife meets no resistance in the centre, the cream has thickened and been mostly absorbed, and the top is golden and bubbling.

Tips

Slice the potatoes no thicker than 5 mm (1/4 inch). Thicker slices take far longer and stay crunchy in the middle.
Floury potatoes break down into mash. Waxy potatoes hold their layers.
Taste the cream mixture before you salt anything. Soup powder plus salt is the usual mistake.
Assemble it in the morning and keep it in the fridge. Add 10 minutes to the covered time if it goes in cold.
For a sweeter version, caramelise 2 onions slowly with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons brown sugar and use those between the layers instead of raw onion.

Ask what to bring to a South African braai and the answer is usually a potato bake. The version everyone knows dates from the 1970s and 1980s, when packet soup went into everything, and brown onion soup powder stirred into cream is still what gives it its flavour. Outside South Africa, stock powder and onion powder get close.

It is usually made in the oven, but it cooks just as well in a closed kettle braai next to the meat. See setting up a kettle braai for the fuel layout.