Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

I closed on a beautiful home in Harbour Island this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.

I drove to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner. The drive takes forty minutes if the traffic behaves. It never behaves. But I make the drive because the table at Mama's house is non-negotiable, and Sunday dinner is the thread that holds this family together.

Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.

I made imam bayildi — eggplant stuffed with tomatoes and onions, braised in olive oil until everything collapsed into silk. We ate at the kitchen table, just the two of us, and for a moment the house was not quiet or loud — it was exactly right. Full. Fed. The sound of forks on plates is the sound I love most in this world.

The olive oil in my kitchen is from a Greek import shop in Tampa that sources from Kalamata. It is expensive. It is worth it. I use it on everything — salads, fish, bread, vegetables, the edge of a pot of soup — because olive oil is not a condiment in this family, it is a philosophy. Use it generously. Use it without apology. Use it the way you use love: poured freely, never measured, always more than you think you need.

Not every Sunday calls for imam bayildi. Some Sundays — the ones after a week of closings and contracts and the beautiful ordinary rhythm of selling houses and calling Mama — call for something golden and bubbling from the oven, something that fills the kitchen with the kind of warmth that makes a house feel exactly right. This scalloped potatoes and ham is that dish: generous layers, a creamy sauce you pour without measuring, and the promise that everyone who sits down will leave the table full and fed.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8 inch)
2 cups diced cooked ham
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Make the cheese sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced onion and cook until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking until smooth. Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until melted and smooth.
Layer the casserole. Arrange a third of the sliced potatoes in the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the diced ham, then pour a third of the cheese sauce over the top. Repeat with another layer of potatoes, the remaining ham, and another third of the sauce. Finish with the remaining potatoes and pour the last of the sauce evenly over the top.
Cover and bake. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes.
Uncover and finish. Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and the paprika over the top, and bake uncovered for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and the top is golden and bubbly.
Rest and serve. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham — Sunday Dinner and the Sound of Forks on Plates