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1
Smash the garlic clove with the palm of your hand and remove the skin.
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2
Put the garlic in a small saucepan with the cream, milk, bay leaf, rosemary, salt, and pepper and bring to a simmer over low heat, then take the saucepan off the heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.
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3
The cream mixture will seem strong and overseasoned, but it will eventually season all of the scalloped potatoes, so dont freak out.
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4
Meanwhile, cut the pancetta into 1/2-inch cubes.
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5
Brown it in a small saucepan over medium heat.
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6
You want to caramelize and cook the pancetta slightly, to increase its presence later in the scalloped potatoes.
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7
Set aside.
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8
Peel the potatoes and slice just thicker than paper-thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick.
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9
Submerge them in a bowl of cold water.
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10
Heat the oven to 350F.
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11
Pull out a 6-inch square baking pan (if you dont have one, you can buy a disposable one at the grocery).
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12
Layer the potatoes in the pan like shingles, putting bits of browned pancetta between each layer of potato shingles, until you are out of both potatoes and pancetta.
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13
Fish out the herbs and garlic clove from the steeped cream mixture with a slotted or regular spoon, and pour it over the potatoes.
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14
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes on top are golden brown and have a milky translucence but have not burned or turned into potato chips.
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15
Cool and chill the scalloped potatoes in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours, covered with plastic and with a bowl of leftovers weighting them down and keeping every shingle tight and condensed in the pan.
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16
Use in the volcano once cool.
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17
To store for later use, take the weights off, wrap the scalloped potatoes especially well in plastic, and return to the fridge for up to 5 days.
