A Thin Cake of Potatoes and Parmesan
Potatoes cut thinly are not only good deep-fried but can be blissful when cooked with stock or butter until they are sodden and meltingly soft. I wanted a sliced potato dish that had the simplicity of pommes à la boulangère but something of the richness of its creamier cousin, pommes à la dauphinoise. This is what I have come up with: thinly sliced potatoes layered with garlic, butter, and grated Parmesan. Savory, melting, and, yes, rich, they are a near-perfect accompaniment for cold roast lamb or beef.
Recipe information
Yield
enough for 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Peel the potatoes, then slice them thinly. I do this by hand but if you have a mandoline you can do it in a matter of seconds. The rounds should be so thin that you can almost see through them.
Step 2
Melt the butter in a small pan. Peel the garlic, then crush it or, if you prefer, chop it finely. Smooth a little of the melted butter over the bottom of a shallow baking dish or a cast-iron frying pan and cover it with some of the potato slices, overlapping them slightly. Pour on a little more butter, then season with salt, garlic, black pepper, and a good dusting of Parmesan. Cover that with a further layer of potatoes, more seasoning, garlic, and Parmesan, then continue layering until you have used all the potatoes.
Step 3
Finish with butter and a light dusting of Parmesan.
Step 4
Bake, pressing the cake down very firmly once or twice with a large spatula. After forty-five to fifty minutes, you should have a deep golden potato cake sizzling around its edges. Remove from the oven and let it sit to calm down for a few minutes before serving.
