🥔🧀 Gratin / Mashed Potato Bake Complete Guide🍽️✨

Hello fellow potato lovers! Today, I'm sharing a recipe for Gratin / Mashed Potato Bake ! This dish is a quintessential Western comfort food, boasting a creamy and smooth texture, topped with a golden, crispy cheese coating. Just the aroma alone will make you drool! 🤤 It's not just a side dish; it can even be the centerpiece. Whether paired with steak, salad, or a large plate, it's sure to satisfy you on its own!

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🛒 Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

The following is a classic version. Feel free to change it up to suit your taste or the leftover ingredients in your refrigerator.

• 1 kg large potatoes (about 6-7 medium potatoes)🥔
• 80g butter 🧈
• 150ml milk 🥛 (If you want a smoother and more fragrant drink, you can use light cream instead)
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper 🌑 to taste
• 100g shredded cheddar cheese 🧀 (for baking)
• 40g shredded Parmesan cheese 🧀 (for nutty flavor)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced or crushed)
• 1 egg🥚 (for firmness)
• A pinch of fresh herbs (such as thyme or parsley)

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👩🍳 Detailed cooking process

1. Processing potatoes

• Peel the potatoes and cut into large pieces.
• Add a pinch of salt to a large pot of cold water and bring to a boil.
• Cook until potatoes fall apart easily when a fork is inserted (approximately 15–20 minutes).

2. Make mashed potatoes

• Drain the cooked potatoes.
• Quickly add the butter while it's still hot and crush it with a potato masher or fork until it's as smooth as possible.
• Add milk (or cream), salt and black pepper, and blend until smooth.
• Add minced garlic and eggs to make the mashed potatoes more fragrant and structured.

3. Prepare the baking dish

• Brush a thin layer of butter in the baking pan to prevent the bottom from sticking.
• Pour in the mashed potatoes and smooth the surface with a spatula or spoon.

4. Add cheese layer

• Evenly sprinkle with shredded Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese.
• If you want to make it look better, you can use a fork to lightly scratch a few lines on the surface.

5. Baking

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Place the baking tray in the oven and bake on the middle layer for about 25-30 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and the cheese is slightly crispy and bubbling 🫧✨.

6. Finished

• Let cool for 5 minutes after baking, then garnish with chopped vanilla.
• Cut into pieces or scoop it up with a spoon and serve, the aroma will instantly fill the whole house.

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💡 Editor's Tips & Variations

• Deluxe Edition :
  Add diced bacon 🥓, sautéed onions 🧅 or sautéed mushrooms 🍄 and mix into mashed potatoes for a richer texture.

• Cheese fan version :
  In addition to Cheddar and Parmesan, you can add Gruyère or Mozzarella to achieve a rich and stringy effect🧀🧀🧀.

• Vegetarian Healthy Version :
  You can reduce the amount of butter and use olive oil instead, then add spinach, corn, and shredded carrots to make a colorful baked potato.

• Hong Kong Fusion :
  Mix in diced barbecued pork or shredded scallops to create a comfort food that blends East and West, perfect for the taste of the elderly 👍.

• Children's favorite :
  You can make it into a small baked pot for one person, and let the children carry it and eat it by themselves after baking. It is fun and convenient.

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🎉 Summary

Baked mashed potatoes are a simple yet incredibly satisfying dish. Smooth and crispy, with a fragrant, baked cheese crust, it's a true delight. It's not just a common side dish in Western restaurants, but you can also add toppings at home for endless variations. Whether you're a cheese lover or a potato lover, or looking for a comfort food that will delight the whole family, Gratin / Mashed Potato Bake is the perfect choice!