Pommes Anna
Pommes Anna – The classic French dish of layered potatoes. So simple. So delicious. And when turned out, it looks so impressive on the plate. It’s for those reasons that I braved making this dish on live TV…
It went well for those wondering. No rude words (apologies again BBC One and Saturday Kitchen). No mouth absolutely full of potato mid segment (apologies again ITV, especially Dermot and Alison). So all in all, was a success really. Hopefully that gives you the confidence to give this dish a go.
What makes Pommes Anna so great? Isn’t it legit just potato and butter?
LET ME TELL YOU. Pommes Anna is a showstopper because you’ve got thinly sliced potato slathered in butter, salt and pepper and layered up to form a spiral-like cake. You can even serve it in little cake-like segments if ya fancy. When cooked it goes all lovely and tender on the inside but golden and crispy on the outside. When properly executed, it is truly a work of art. It’s a great way to impress using cost effective ingredients and minimal tools. I’m pretty pedantic so I spend quite a bit of time with the layering part to make sure it’s all even, but you don’t have to be as extra as me. Once you’ve mastered the classic, you can begin to get creative and add additional flavours like garlic, herbs, cheese or whatever else will blend in easily.
Serve as a side dish, bring to a picnic or buffet or replace your roasties with this beauty to mix up your Sunday Dinner. If you’re looking to experiment further, stay tuned for more Pommes Anna inspired dishes coming soon, including a garlic confit and festive inspired version. Honestly, so good and both amazing options for the Christmas period.
If you love a French potato dish as much as me, check out my Spud category to find basically every kinda potato going.
Ingredients
- 3 red skin potatoes
- Splash of olive oil
- 80g salted butter
- Plenty of salt to season
- Extra butter if needed
Method
- Peel and thinly slice your potatoes.
- Melt about 20g (1/2oz) of your butter and oil in a pan over a medium-high heat.
- Start layering your potatoes. Once you have your first layer ready, top it with salt, pepper and butter.
- Continue layering like this until you’ve used all your potatoes slices. Remember to add salt, pepper and butter between each layer.
- Cover with parchment paper and leave on medium/high heat for around 20-30 mins, but just keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn. If it's browning a little too fast, just turn the heat down a bit.
- Once you can see the edges browning, remove the parchment and put it into a preheated oven at 180°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for only 5 minutes or so.
- Then, remove from the oven and flip onto a vessel and enjoy!