Recipes: Red Potato, Broccoli and Ham Gratin

Brrr! It is freezing in San Francisco this week. Our lovely spring has been taken over by cold wind and rain.  I made a dinner that matched the weather tonight using the spoils of winter entertaining: leftover ham in the freezer from Christmas and the last chunks of fancy cheeses from the baby shower. It was hot, gooey and delicious!

Red Potato, Broccoli and Ham Gratin
3 cups of cubed red potatoes
3 cups of chopped broccoli
1 cup of diced ham (ours is from the excellent Roberts Corned Meats in SF)
2 tablespoons of salted butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 1/2 cups of 1% milk
1/4 cup shredded smoked gouda
14 cup shredded onion & chive english cheddar
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.  Steam your potatoes on the stove until they are just tender. While the potatoes are cooking, make a roux in a mid-sized pan: melt the butter and mix in the flour with a fork until you have a thick paste.  Add milk to the roux and stir vigorously.  Keep over high heat until the milk boils and the sauce starts to thicken. Reduce the heat and lowly add your cheese while stirring with the fork. If the sauce is getting too thick splash in more milk.  If you're using straight cheddar with no other cheeses, you may want to add a little hot sauce to the mix for flavor.

Mix the potatoes, broccoli and ham with some pepper and toss with the cheese sauce in a casserole pan. Bake covered in foil for 20 minutes and another 10 uncovered.

We served ours with a romaine and orange salad on the side. If you have leftovers - I think it would be easy to make into a cheesy soup the next day by just chopping more finely and adding extra milk.