Ham and Cabbage Potato Gratin

If I'm home during the day, I'm apt to watch The View. While I think there's a lot of nonsense that goes on during the show, I watch because I'm a huge fan of Chefs Michael Symon and Mario Batali. During one of last week's show, Michael Symon put together a simple gratin that he deemed a side dish, but that I thought would make an excellent one dish dinner. Of course it would have to be lightened up, but I didn't think that would be a problem. Since I had put up some vacuum-packed bags of spiral ham, I decided to make the dish for Sunday dinner. Here is my version of the dish:

Serves 4 (at 13 WW SP's per serving)
12 oz spiral ham, small dice
1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, sliced very thinly on a mandolin
1 small green cabbage, cored and sliced in 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs light butter
1 cup lowfat half and half
4 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 tsp paprika
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a deep skillet or pot. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring. Add ham and cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Drain excess liquid.

Place sliced potatoes (do NOT soak in water) into the half and half. Stir in the paprika and about 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray an 8 X 10 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer half the potato mixture followed by all of the cabbage and ham mixture. Top with the remaining half of the potato mixture. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

Cover tightly with foil and bake covered for 45 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, until the top is nicely browned, Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
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TASTE NOTES
I ran this recipe through the Weight Watchers' recipe builder. One-fourth of the casserole, a very generous serving, was 13 points. It was well worth it. While I've no doubt that additional butter and heavy cream would be delicious, they weren't missed at all. Replacing Chef Symon's deli ham with my spiral ham definitely elevated this dish. As we were eating, I mused aloud that this would be an excellent St. Patrick's Day dish if I just substituted corned beef for the ham and perhaps added some carrots. I'll let you know. 

Asiago, Bacon, and Potato Gratin

This recipe has been all over Pinterest and with good reason. It's so easy and it is cheesy and delicious. The bacon may seem like overkill to those who don't worship at that shrine (I can't envision a food that can't be made better with bacon). I did find, however, that the cooking time was way off and I believe the dish can be made simpler still by using a mandolin to slice the potatoes very thinly and omitting the parboiling, which I intend to do next time. Therefore, I'm editing the instructions to reflect this. Otherwise, you want to try this dish very soon.

The original recipe was printed in Cooking Light in 2004.

• 1 1/2 pounds peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into very thin slices (1/16 inch)
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided 
• Cooking spray 
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided 
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese 

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Use a mandolin to slice the potatoes paper thin; sprinkle generously with salt.
3. Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sprinkle flour over shallots. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago, chives, pepper, and bacon.
4. Arrange half of potato slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices. Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

TASTE NOTES
I liked this take on potatoes au gratin. They were lacking none of the creaminess and cheesiness, but they weren't over-the-top in terms of calories and fat. This is definitely a keeper recipe when you want something special to go with a ham or a roast.