Pommes Annette Recipes

POMMES ANNA

Steps:

• Heat large knob of butter with a healthy drizzle of olive oil over medium low heat until butter melts and just starts to foam. Shut off heat under pan.
• Using a sharp and stable Japanese mandolin - or the real French metal one if you're lucky enough to have one - slice the potatoes into very thin but not paper-thin slices.
• Arrange the slices tightly, careful shingling around the pan in concentric circles starting at the outer edge of the pan and working your way into the center. Season the first layer with a little salt. Repeat with each potato until you achieve three tight and gorgeous layers.
• Turn the heat back on under the pan at medium. Drizzle the potatoes with a generous pour of olive oil and dot a few more pats of butter around the pan of potatoes. Season with salt. As the pan starts to sizzle, you will see the fat bubbling up and spitting a bit. Put a lid on the pan and seal tightly for a minute or two, giving the potatoes a little steam bath, helping to soften and cook the flesh. Remove the lid and swirl the pan with a little muscle to see if the potatoes are binding together as their starch begins to heat up. If they slip loosely all around the pan, tuck the slices back into the tight circle using a heat-proof rubber spatula and allow to sizzle and cook longer uncovered. Bump up the flame a little if the cooking sounds and looks listless - you want to hear sizzle. When you start to smell the potatoes turning golden and crisp - like the smell of toast - swirl the pan again to confirm that the potato layers have formed a cake, and then flip the pommes Anna and cook on the other side also until golden and crispy. Slide onto serving plate or cutting board, season with salt, and cut into wedges.

POMMES ANNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a rack in the middle and set a rimmed baking sheet on top of it.
• Trim potatoes into cylinders, peeling any skin left after trimming. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice into 1/8-inch slices and blot dry with paper towels. You should have about 8 1/2 cups.
• In a heavy 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons clarified butter over medium heat. When hot, carefully place 1 potato slice in the middle, then quickly place more slices around it, overlapping them clockwise to make a ring. Place a second ring to surround the first, going counterclockwise. Continue to the edge of the pan, alternating the direction in which the potato rings overlap. Sprinkle with a generous 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with another 2 tablespoons butter.
• Create second layer of potatoes, just as you did the first. Dot a third of the garlic slices, if using, on top of this layer of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper; drizzle with butter.
• Continue layering potatoes, garlic, butter and salt until everything is used, making a dome of potatoes in the middle (they will sink as they cook). Occasionally shake skillet gently to ensure potatoes aren't sticking. When finished, there should be enough butter that it can be seen bubbling up the sides of the skillet.
• Butter the bottom of a 9-inch pan and one side of a piece of foil. Push the pan down firmly on top of the potatoes to press them. Remove pan, then cover potatoes with the foil, buttered side down. Cover the foil with a lid. Set skillet on the baking sheet in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove skillet from oven, uncover and remove foil, and again press potatoes down firmly with the 9-inch pan. (Rebutter bottom of pan, if necessary, before you press down.) Return to oven and bake uncovered, until potatoes are tender and the sides are dark brown when lifted away from skillet, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Once more, remove skillet from oven and press potatoes down firmly with pan. Tip the skillet away from you to drain off the excess butter into a bowl (this can be reused for cooking), using the lid to keep the potatoes in place. Run a thin spatula around edge and bottom of skillet to loosen any slices stuck to the pan. Carefully turn out the potatoes onto a serving platter.

POMMES ANNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
• Heat a medium nonstick or well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium to medium-low heat. With a sharp knife or box grater, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible. Pat the potato slices dry on a kitchen towel. Start to arrange 1 layer of overlapping potato slices over the bottom of the pan in concentric circles. Pour the clear liquid of the butter over the sliced potatoes, leaving the milky solids on the bottom of the saucepan. Repeat 2 more times, making 3 layers. Drizzle each layer with a bit of the butter and season the layers, alternating salt, pepper, and then nutmeg. Cook on low heat until potatoes are golden on the bottom and crisp around the outside, about 25 to 30 minutes. Shake the pan back and forth several times while cooking to keep from sticking.
• Pour off any excess butter into a small bowl and reserve. Place a flat pan lid, the diameter of the skillet, over the potatoes. Holding the lid firmly in place, gently flip over. Add the reserved butter to the pan and slide the potatoes back in. Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Shake the pan back and forth several times while cooking to keep the potatoes from sticking. The bottom should be browned and crisp and the potatoes cooked through. Pour off any fat remaining in the pan and slide the potato cake onto a serving dish. Slice into wedges, sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese and serve.