| 2 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small bits, plus 3 to 4
tablespoons butter, melted
6 to 8 bratwursts or weisswursts, about 1 1/2 pounds total
Sweet mustard, preferably flavored with horseradish
2 to 3 tablespoons fine cracker crumbs
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking
dish.
Have ready a bowl three-fourths full of water. Very thinly
slice the potatoes, making the slices as uniform as possible. (If
the potatoes are not the same thickness, some will be cooked while
others will remain raw.) As the potatoes are sliced, add them to
the water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry on
paper towels.
|
Arrange a single layer of the potato
slices in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper,
and some of the Parmesan cheese and dot with some of the butter.
Repeat to create more layers, sprinkling each one with the
seasonings and cheese and dotting with the butter. Season the
final layer with salt and pepper and top with all but 2
tablespoons of the cheese and all the remaining butter bits. Place
the potatoes in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a saucepan filled with water to a gentle
boil, add the sausages, and parboil for 5 minutes. Remove the
sausages from the water and cut a lengh-wise slit down the center
of each one. Fill each gash with some mustard.
When the potatoes have baked for 15 minutes, remove from the
oven and place the sausages on top of them. Brush the sausages
with the melted butter and sprinkle them with the remaining 2
tablespoons cheese. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs over the sausages
and the top potato layer.
Return the baking dish to the oven and continue to bake
until the potatoes are soft when pierced with a knife and the
sausages are nicely browned on top, about 20 minutes longer. Serve
directly from the baking dish. |
