Delicious, buttery Pomme Anna

Some of you may not of heard of the Pomme Anna, so this is my attempt to show you all the glorious, salty, crispy perfection that is layers upon layers of spuds goodness.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this gorgeous pomme Anna:

3 red skin potatoes
Splash of olive oil
80g/3oz salted butter
Plenty of salt to season
Extra butter if needed

It might take a few tries to get it perfect – I’ve ruined a lot in my time but now I think it’s looking pretty good! The key is to take your time over your slicing and layering. If the slices are too thin they’ll burn on the bottom and go mushy in the centre. but too thick and the slices won’t cook through.

I like to keep my potatoes in piles when slicing, so that the layers can go around and look more natural than loads of different sized slices.

As per usual, I recommend a Maris Piper or Yukon Gold for this as they’re starchy enough to stick together. A mandolin is definitely handy for slicing your spuds but you can do them by hand, as long as they’re all an even 2-3mm in thickness.

Layering Up

This is a really easy recipe to scale up and down depending on your pan size – here I’ve just made a relatively small one in an 8″ frying pan. Pop your chosen pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil and a few cubes of salted butter to melt.

Starting from the centre, layer in your potatoes to fill the bottom of your pan. You want them to look like a snail shell, going round in a spiral. When you finish each layer, season heavily with salt and black pepper, remember that salt and pepper is your only flavouring! Smush up a few cubes of butter so they are flat and spread them over the top, then repeat!.

Top with a circle of greaseproof paper and cook for around 10 minutes on the hob. Press down gently on the potatoes to make sure they all stick together – you can pop a plate on top to really stick them together if you like!

Pop it in the oven

Have a peek under the greaseproof after 10 minutes on the hob and check that you’re seeing some browning around the edges of the potatoes, and the middles going translucent. If it needs a bit longer, don’t be afraid to leave it!

Get your oven preheated to 180ºc/350ºf. When you’re happy with your potatoes on the hob, pop it in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, just to make sure the centre is completely cooked.

When the pomme Anna is cooked, remove the greaseproof and if you’re not sure you can very gently test the centre of the potatoes with a sharp knife.

Time to flip!

Put a serving plate or board over the top of your frying pan. Ideally you don’t want to move your pomme Anna when it’s out of the pan, so choose your dish wisely!

Put a thick tea towel under the base of the pan and use the ends of the towel to clamp together the serving plate and the pan. Quickly flip it over and the potatoes should come out easily! If they do stick slightly, give the pan a little wiggle and it should fall out.

Give that all important final sprinkling of flaky sea salt and slice up your beautiful pomme Anna.

Once you’ve mastered this version, go have a look at my Garlic Confit Pommes Anna and Individual Pommes Anna for your next challenge!