Red Potato Ham and Cheese Pie
I stopped at the store the other day and came home with a couple of pounds of gorgeous locally grown red potatoes. At first, I was thinking of making a garlic mash with them and then I thought maybe some good old fashioned scallop potatoes. I could not decide and then I figured it out… I wanted to make a Red Potato Ham and Cheese Pie. I imagined a savory red potato pie without a crust but with chopped ham, onions, garlic, fresh shaved Parmesan and Oregon’s own Tillamook cheddar cheese. I wanted to make it kind of like an “impossible pie”.
My Red Potato Ham and Cheese Pie is a lovely dish to serve at a Sunday brunch or with a cup of soup or salad for lunch or dinner. I ate my slice of Red Potato Ham and Cheese Pie with a perfectly cooked over easy egg on the side. It was absolutely delicious! Enjoy! – Tessa
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups chopped ham
- 1 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup medium diced onion
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- salt to taste (it all depends on the saltiness of the ham)
Begin by boiling your red potatoes in salted water until just fork tender. Whatever you do, just do not over cook the potatoes. You want to be able to slice them thinly later. Remove cooked potatoes from water and let cool. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grab a nine inch diameter spring-form pan and spray with non stick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the spring-form pan with parchment paper. Spray again with non-stick spray.
Begin by slicing the red potatoes (with peels on) into no more than 1/4 inch thin slices using a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer. Set potatoes aside. In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, coriander, garlic, nutmeg and white pepper. Salt only if you think that you need it.
Take one third of your potatoes and layer the bottom of the spring-form pan. Overlapping the potatoes is fine, leaving gaps on the bottom is not. I found I preferred to use the ugliest of the slices and bits of the potato on the bottom of the pie that way the pretty slices are used in the second and top layer. Add one third of the shredded cheese, chopped onion, ham and egg mixture. Repeat two more times alternating potato, cheese, onion, ham and egg mixture.
Place pie in the oven on a cookie sheet (to catch any drips) and bake for about 50-55 minutes until the pie is golden brown on top and the egg mixture has set. Remove from oven, let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese and sprigs of fresh picked herbs. Makes 8 slices.
Notes: If you don’t have a spring-form pan, it’s no big deal! Just work with what you have. Use a baking dish large enough to fit all your ingredients and make at least 2-3 layers. Don’t worry about the parchment paper either. I just used it to get perfect slices out of the spring-form pan. Just follow the recipe, cut into squares and serve!
