Blue cheese Potatoes au Gratin

I suppose any blue cheese would do for this recipe, but the Cambozola makes for a lovely, savory-sweet dish. It is a high-octane recipe in terms of fat, given the high fat content of the cheese, but this is what creates the amazing mouth feel that makes every morsel so appealing.

4  potatoes (1lb 8oz), sliced thinly

3 garlic cloves, minced

3  Tbsps (42gr) butter

3  Tbsps flour

1½  cups milk

1  tsp. salt

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced  (or 2 tsps dried)

100gr Cambozola cheese, grated

1. Place the oven rack in the middle position. Pre-heat to 350°F.
2. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and sauté the garlic until starting to colour.
3. With a whisk blend in the flour and cook until it turns pale golden and you've roasted out the floury flavor.
4. Add all the milk stirring constantly with the whisk to break up clods of flour, and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
5. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally with the whisk, until the sauce thickens.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
7. Place a quarter of the sliced potatoes in a one quart casserole dish or if you have an attractive oven-ready fry pan, it'll create a lovely rustic display and you only have to dirty one pan to make the dish! Alternate in quarters the first the potatoes and then the cheese sauce until you end with the last of the cheese sauce on top.
8. Bake uncovered for about 1hr + or until the potatoes are soft and a nice golden crust forms on top.