Pommes Anna - Classic French Potato Recipe(Full Recipe)
Pommes Anna - Classic French Potato Recipe
Makes | 4 servings
Pommes Anna is one of the great French potato dishes — just potatoes, butter, and a very hot cast-iron pan. Chef Jake Eberle, author of the Le Fond cookbook and former chef of Le Fond bistro in Brooklyn, walks you through the full technique in under 4 minutes. Jake uses russet potatoes, a mandoline for paper-thin, consistent slices, and a squeeze bottle of clarified butter between each layer. The result is a golden, lacquered potato cake that holds its shape and releases cleanly when flipped.
Pommes Anna:
5 large Idaho potatoes
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, like canola
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Tools
Mandolin
Parchment Paper
Cast-iron Skillet
Instructions
1. Peel the potatoes and slice them thin on a mandoline.
2. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add oil to the pan and when it shimmers, carefully rotate the pan to coat the entire interior. (Do not let the oil splash out onto your hand.)
3. Lower the heat to medium-low. Season the pan with a little salt and shingle sliced potatoes around the outside of the bottom of the pan. Shingle more potatoes in a concentric circle just overlapping the outer ring. Repeat again as needed to completely fil in the bottom of the skillet. Shingle another layer of potatoes on top of the fi st layer. Season this layer lightly with more salt. Repeat this process until you’ve used all the potatoes. Transfer the pan to the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes, remove from oven and set a piece of parchment on the potatoes and press them with a similar, slightly smaller pan. Remove pan and paper and then top the potatoes with the butter and return them to the oven for another 20–30 minutes, or until they probe completely tender with a cake tester.
5. When they’re done, use a small offset spatula or butter knife to carefully lift the edge of the potato cake and gauge how brown and crispy the bottom is. If it’s still blond, put the skillet on a burner and brown the outside of the potato cake over medium-high or high heat.
6. When the potatoes are nice and crusty on the bottom, use the offset spatula to free the entire perimeter of the potato cake. Invert a large plate over the top of the skillet. Press the plate down on the skillet and carefully flip the skillet, making sure no hot fat drips down on your wrist. Let the pommes Anna drop down onto the plate. Set aside until service.