Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots, Thyme & Fontina Cheese

Scalloped potatoes are always served alongside our ham on Easter, so we wanted to create an extra special and flavorful version for you! My mom tried these potatoes when I was recipe-testing and quickly proclaimed them the best potatoes she had ever had. They are so flavorful! You layer everything as you would a lasagna, and these can easily sit in the fridge prepared and uncooked for up to a day. Hope you will make them!

Serves 4, and can easily be doubled

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
3 cups of sliced shallots, about 4 large
1 Tablspoon fresh thyme
kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
I clove garlic, peeled and smashed
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
3 cups shredded fontina cheese
1 1/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh ground pepper
More thyme for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Warm a skillet over high heat. Add unsalted butter and olive oil. Once melted, turn the heat down to medium low and add shallots. Sauté for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and sugar and sauté another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Rub a 9x12 gratin dish with the garlic clove, then with the softened butter. Make a layer of potato slices in the dish, overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, then 1/2 of the shallot mixture, then 1 cup grated fontina cheese. Repeat that exact layer. Finish with one more layer of potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour half and half over the potato layers- the liquid should come up to the top layer of potatoes. Press down the potato layers with a spatula and slide into the oven. After 30 minutes remove the dish from the oven and press down the potato layer with a spatula one more time. Return to the oven. After 1 hour of cooking remove and sprinkle with the last cup of fontina cheese, the Parmesan cheese, fresh ground pepper and a sprinkling of thyme leaves. Put back in the oven and bake another 15 minutes (about 1 hour 15 minutes in total). The potatoes should be soft and the top, golden brown.