France · Vegetable and Mushroom Dishes · Vegetarian
Pommes Anna
A French side dish of thinly sliced potatoes layered into a cake and baked in clarified butter until the edges turn golden and crisp while the centre stays tender. It was created in 19th-century Paris by chef Adolphe Duglere.
70 min 350 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌿Vegetarian🇫🇷France★★★★★4.6
Ingredients
ServingsMetric
- 900 gYukon Gold potatoes
- 80 gclarified butter
- 2 tspfresh thyme
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tspblack pepper
Method
- Clarify the butter: melt 100 g unsalted butter over low heat, skim the foam, and spoon off the clear golden fat, leaving the milky residue behind. You need about 80 g.
- Peel the potatoes and slice them 2 mm thick on a mandoline. Do not rinse them; the surface starch is what binds the layers. Pat dry only if visibly wet.
- Brush a 24 cm oven-safe nonstick or well-buttered cast-iron skillet with clarified butter and heat the oven to 220C.
- Place one slice in the centre, then lay overlapping slices in concentric circles, each covering the previous by about half. Brush with clarified butter and season lightly with salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Repeat for 3 to 4 layers, brushing butter and seasoning between each. Press firmly with the base of a second pan to compact the cake.
- Set the skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes to set and brown the bottom layer.
- Move to the oven and bake about 45 to 50 minutes, pressing once more halfway through, until the edges are golden and a knife slips through easily.
- Pour off the excess butter, run a knife around the edge, invert onto a plate, and cut into wedges. Serve hot.
FAQ
You can, but whole butter burns at high heat as its milk solids darken. Clarified butter holds 220C and gives a clean golden crust. If you keep whole butter, bake at 200C instead.
Rate this
Rate this recipe
Keep browsing
More dishes from the French archive — picked by overlap with what you're cooking now.
Join the conversation
Comments
No comments yet — be the first!