Pommes Anna. Simple and Tricky
This is my favorite potato dish. It’s so versatile and embodies all of the things I like about potatoes. The soft, the crispy, the dark brown, and the fluffy. Pommes Anna has symmetry and natural beauty. I’d like to write about it because 99 percent of the recipes for this are lies. Lies like the ones that tell you its possible to caramelize onions in 10 minutes. Rude attempts to make the simple and sublime seem simple to make. Pommes Anna is not easy to make, and takes a lot of practice to get just right. My contribution is going to be a few points that are absolutely helpful and not in a lot of the recipes out there.
After the flip
Slice peeled Yukon Golds on a mandolin. Not paper, but cardboard thick. Dip them in CLARIFIED butter. Lay slices on a tray and season lightly with salt and pepper. Have a nonstick or seasoned pan with sloping sides on medium heat. The above photo shows the order of how the slices lay. Place one in the center, and then make slightly overlapping rings, IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, until you reach the edge. Then make one more and gently nudge from the outside to tighten the whole shape. Raise the heat to medium/high and press on the top with a cake pan or slightly smaller saute pan to flatten and ensure maximum contact with the non stick surface. 2-3 minutes on the stove and then throw the whole thing in a 400 degree oven. 4 minutes and take off the weighting pan. 5 more minutes and take out of the oven. Give the pan a wiggle to make sure its not stuck, and then flip it out onto the back of a sheet tray. Like a magician slide it back into the pan and cook on medium heat for 3 more minutes.
That is the basic framework for this dish. Pay attention and like the Tart Tatin, the edges are going to brown more quickly and are not the signifier that the potatoes closer to the center are browned. If your edges look perfect, your center is under cooked. Be brave and let it go a little more than you are comfortable with. And CLARIFY your butter. The potatoes should be browning, not the butter. All BROWNS aren’t the same.