Baked potato and mushroom casserole, a very tempting, rich, and delicious idea, suitable for Sunday lunch or as a zero-waste recipe to utilize leftover or excess ingredients, cooked or raw, from previous preparations, just like what happened in this case. I had boiled potatoes (but raw potatoes can also be used) and mushrooms left over from Sunday lunch, and I decided to combine them into a succulent and tasty dish that the whole family would enjoy. The baked potato and mushroom casserole is very easy, customizable according to your tastes and needs, and can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or main course. The recipe I made is completely gluten and lactose-free.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.4 lbs boiled potatoes
- 1.1 lbs champignon mushrooms
- 1.7 cups milk (also lactose-free)
- 0.7 oz butter (also lactose-free)
- 0.7 oz cornstarch or all-purpose flour
- to taste fine salt
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons grated table cheese
- to taste chopped parsley (or chopped celery leaves)
- 1 pinch curry
- 1 pinch paprika (sweet or hot according to taste)
Tools
- 1 Slicer
Steps
You can use both boiled and raw potatoes, to be thinly sliced, about 1 millimeter. In the case of boiled potatoes, it is essential that they are cold from the fridge and firm, otherwise, it would be impossible to slice them.
Peel the potatoes (whether cooked or raw), slice them, and keep them on a plate.
Clean the champignon mushrooms (in this case, you can also use cooked ones, as long as they are free of cooking liquid), removing all the dirt and inedible parts.
Slice them about 2 millimeters thick. After slicing them all, put them in a pan without adding anything, neither water nor seasonings.
Cover the pan, put it on medium heat, and, over high heat, wait for them to release their own water (about one minute). Without burning yourself, remove the mushroom water, return them to the pan, and repeat this operation two more times (it will take a maximum of 5/8 minutes). It’s important that the mushrooms are dry for this recipe. It is not necessary to salt the mushrooms and potatoes, as they will be flavored by the béchamel.
Prepare the béchamel by melting the butter over low heat in a saucepan. As soon as the butter is completely melted, add the sifted cornstarch or flour, stirring quickly with a steel whisk, toasting the flour (or cornstarch) for about 30 seconds before adding all the milk.
Stirring very often and keeping the flame low, season the béchamel with a grating of nutmeg, a pinch of curry, and fine salt as needed, keeping in mind that you also need to flavor the potatoes and mushrooms.
To add an extra touch, you can mix 50 grams of soft gorgonzola into the hot béchamel.
As soon as the sauce begins to thicken, turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from the stove.
Preheat the oven to 392°F. Now it’s time to assemble the casserole in layers, first spreading a generous spoonful of béchamel on the bottom of the pan (a round one of 10 inches or an oblong one of 12 inches is fine, like mine in the photo) and alternating:
– One layer of potato slices (slightly overlapping each other)
– One spoon of béchamel to spread gently on the potatoes
– A sprinkle of grated cheese
– A pinch of paprika (sweet or hot)
– Part of the mushrooms
– Another spoon of béchamel and so on, until all ingredients are used up.
Bake the dish in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. At the end of cooking, turn on the grill to create a tempting crust that will make this delicious casserole even more appetizing. Serve the baked potato and mushroom casserole with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley or celery leaves.
If there are any potato slices left over, add them along the edges of the casserole, inside the pan, to avoid wasting anything.
Bon appetit
