Cheesy Bavarian Homefries

Chrissy at Delightful Lifestyle
Oct 17, 2016
3 min read

Listen, these are the bomb. They’re cheesy, perfectly fried, and absolutely to die for. These cheesy Bavarian homefries are the first recipe on this blog, and they deserve to be.

I can make a ton of different potato dishes pretty well, but homefries have always stumped me. I’ve had recipes tell me to bake them (how would they be home“fries”?), and other to bake and fry them, and some just to fry. I hate frying things. Frying anything just makes me nervous. That being said, fried food is a favorite of mine (who doesn’t like fried food), so I needed to learn how.

One more thing: this recipe includes a not-common seasoning, Bavarian Seasoning. In it, there’s a blend of crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and sage. I couldn’t find the correct proportions online to make my own (without buying them), but I bet you could have great luck blending equal parts of each ingredient together. I buy my Bavarian Seasoning from a brand called Penzey's.

Behold, the mighty Cheesy Bavarian Homefries.

Cheesy Bavarian Homefries

Ingredients:

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (or any other medium sized, mild-taste variety)
1/2 cup salted butter, split in half (usually one stick; I use Kerrygold Irish butter)
Bavarian Seasoning to taste (see above for description of this seasoning; I explain how much I used in the recipe below)
Six cloves fresh or canned, miced garlic
About 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

To start, cut your potatoes into small cubes. You can do this by making one horizontal cut through the middle, then three vertical cuts. If some are still too big, simply cut them in half and they should be small enough. Plop those into a large bowl, big enough to be able to mix the potatoes without any falling out, as that could be messy! Mince your fresh garlic and set aside. You may also use canned, pre-minced garlic, but I prefer fresh.

Next, melt one half of the butter and pour it over your potatoes, mixing well with a rubber spatula or something similar. Then, put on your Bavarian seasoning. This is to taste, as some will want more or less. For me, I covered the top layer of potatoes (without mixing) pretty thoroughly, you couldn’t see too much potato. Mix well so that the seasoning is well incorporated, then put in your salt and pepper to taste. Remember: you can always add more salt and pepper later, but you can never take it away, so be careful!

Turn on your stove to medium heat. You should still have 1/4 cup of butter leftover, so cut that in half once more. Place the butter on a frying pan (preferably one with raised sides so trap the flying hot butter). Then, put the pan to the heat. Wait for your butter to melt, then place approximately half the potatoes in the pan. Stir them once quickly to get the melted butter equally incorporated, then let them be. Cover them with a lid and let them cook for five minutes, untouched.

After the five minutes, take the lid off and stir thoroughly. Next, place the lid back on and cook (still on medium) for fifteen minutes, stirring in five minute increments.

Take the lid off again and stir. Add approximately half of your garlic on top of your potatoes, stir, and cook for three minutes with the lid on. This should be enough time to cook the garlic without burning it or having it be too raw.

Finally, take the lid off and add half of the cheese to your potatoes. Stir very thoroughly, out the lid back on, and cook for two minutes, stirring once one minute in. Then, take your potatoes off the heat, stir once more, and place on a plate to cool, then serve!

Repeat these steps for the other half of the potatoes, and voila! Cheesy Bavarian Homefries!