Potatoes Boulangère

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 shallots
• 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 tsp. herbes de Provence
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

The Yukon gold potatoes are like what I grew up calling new potatoes; they're not what's called new potatoes nowadays. If you use something too floury they'll just disintegrate as they cook. If you use something too waxy they'll slide off each other as you serve them, and that's not what you want either. You want something in between, that'll retain some structural integrity, and yet will glom together in the not-too-much broth.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Grease the bottom and sides of a casserole dish (one for which you have a lid) with 1 Tbsp. of the butter.

Using a mandoline, the slicing attachment for your food processor, or your mad knife skills, peel and slice the shallots as finely as you can manage, and slice the potatoes into 0.125" disks.

You don't want to put the potatoes in water at this point, as this will start to remove the starch, which you want to thicken the broth. You also don't want to leave them lying around to discolour, so get them into their cooking dish and into the oven

Alternate layers of potatoes and onions with a little salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of the herbs, then add the broth, stopping before the vegetables are covered. Don't overdo the broth— you want the top to crisp up a bit at the end.

Decorate the top of the dish with little dabs of butter, then put the lid on and put the casserole in the oven. (If you can't find a lid, you can cover it with foil instead.)

Bake covered for 45 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another half hour.

Serve hot!