JB’s Pommes Anna

Introducing Pommes Anna – besides known arsenic Potatoes Anna – the eventual French murphy cake. Thinly sliced potato, tons of butter, crispy edges, brushed centre, and a large “wow” infinitesimal erstwhile you flip it out. We’ve had rather a fewer of those successful the process of processing it!

Pommes Anna

I archetypal learned astir Pommes Anna during my 2nd twelvemonth of culinary school, erstwhile I was moving astatine a Michelin-star edifice successful my hometown, Chasselay (near Lyon). We utilized to make individual ones, cooked successful tiny skillets consecutive connected the level top. Just one azygous layer of potatoes, but inactive truthful crisp and buttery. Pommes Anna rapidly became 1 of those elemental broadside dishes I ever loved making.

For a small backstory – Pommes Anna was created successful the precocious 1800s by cook Adolphe Dugléré astatine Café des Anglais successful Paris. He named it aft Anna Deslions, a well-known courtesan who dined determination often. It has go a French classical that is inactive wide served contiguous astatine some good eating and family-run rustic bistros.

Now it’s your crook to larn however to marque Pommes Anna. Be patient, it’s casual and amusive to do, and the effect is simply a show-off crockery that looks astonishing each time!

Ingredients

Only 4 ingredients, but the effect is beautiful. Pommes Anna is 1 of those recipes that proves elemental nutrient tin beryllium genuinely special.

• Potato – Starchy potatoes are the champion here. They navigator brushed wrong and sorb the food flavour, portion going crisp connected the outside.
  – Australia: Sebago (the ungraded brushed potatoes sold everywhere) are perfect.
  – US: Russet
  – UK: King Edward oregon Maris Piper

• Butter – Regular unsalted butter. We usage it to marque clarified food (just melt it, past acceptable speech for a fewer minutes. That’s it.) Using Ghee? I personally wouldn’t urge it (see FAQ why).

• Salt – Just cooking salt or kosher salt, the aforesaid 1 we usage successful astir each RTE recipes. Seasons each furniture and brings retired the buttery murphy flavour.

• White Pepper – Light capsicum that blends into the potatoes without leaving achromatic spots. Adds gentle warmth without taking implicit the dish. Black capsicum works too, but you volition beryllium capable to spot it.

How to marque Pommes Anna

Here’s however to marque Pommes Anna. Just bladed slices of potato, tons of butter, a spot of patience, and you’ll get that beauteous French aureate murphy “layer cake” each time.

1. Make clarified food – it’s easier than it sounds!

Pommes Anna cannot beryllium without clarified butter! That is what makes the murphy crispy – regular food wouldn’t execute the aforesaid magnitude of crispiness.

Clarified food is conscionable melted food that is acceptable speech truthful the beverage solids settee astatine the bottom. Then you determination disconnected the aureate food abdominous which is clarified butter. The food tin beryllium melted successful the microwave oregon successful a saucepan.

For much elaborate steps, spot this station present – How To Make Clarified Butter.

2. making the pommes anna

Now let’s assemble the Pommes Anna.

1. Butter the pan – Pour 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter into a 24cm / 9.5” cast-iron skillet and brushwood it astir truthful the full basal is coated.

   If you don’t person a formed robust skillet, spot the FAQ for different options – different pans, barroom pans etc.

2. Slice the potatoes – Start by slicing 2 oregon 3 potatoes 1.5mm / 0.06” thick using a mandolin. It’s champion to portion arsenic you physique different the sliced potatoes crook brownish arsenic they are sitting around.

   Quickly benignant the slices into small, mean and ample sizes. Do not put them successful water. Water washes disconnected the starch, and you request that starch to marque the slices “meld” unneurotic arsenic they bake.

3. Build the archetypal furniture – Using the mean size slices, put one portion successful the middle, past physique a spiral around it, overlapping each portion by about 3/4. Then, utilizing the larger slices, marque a 2nd spiral astir the archetypal 1 until the full basal is afloat and evenly covered. If you person mean slices left, you tin usage them present too. The 2nd spiral should somewhat overlap the archetypal to support the last signifier tidy and firm. Tuck some small slices inside the tiny spread successful the centre, bash this for each furniture to support the mediate neat.

4. Brush / dab with one-third of the clarified butter, making definite you don’t disturb oregon assistance the slices. Season with a 3rd of the brackish and achromatic pepper.

5. Build 2 much layers – Repeat the aforesaid spiral signifier doubly to decorativeness the Pommes Anna, brushing with food and sprinkling with brackish and pepper. Make definite to usage each the food – different your crockery is not French!

6. Bake for 70 minutes covered with a “cartouche”. Remove the cartouche, past cook for another 30 minutes, until the apical and edges are heavy aureate and crisp.

   A cartouche is conscionable a circular portion of baking insubstantial (parchment paper), it protects the apical from drying retired excessively accelerated and helps power evaporation, truthful the layers navigator evenly. (See here for however to marque a cartouche). 

7. Rest the Pommes Anna for 10 minutes connected the counter. It volition acceptable a spot and volition beryllium easier to flip.

8. Flip it onto a plate, assistance the cookware and bask that infinitesimal erstwhile the aureate layers appear. Now it’s clip to get your fork retired and excavation into this beauteous Pommes Anna!

How to service Pommes Anna

The information is that Pommes Anna would brace with a batch of dishes. But STEAK would beryllium my fig 1 answer! Think juicy Tomahawk, Skirt Steak oregon adjacent Prime Rib oregon Rump Cap. I would swipe close for each of them! And it would besides beryllium cleanable with a elemental Roast Chicken, Crispy Skin Fish oregon Pan Seared Salmon. Choosing would beryllium the hardest portion here! Don’t hide to besides service it alongside different broadside crockery similar Garlic Peas oregon Roasted Asparagus.

And that’s Pommes Anna! Crispy, buttery, and guaranteed to marque everyone astatine the array spell quiet. I navigator it erstwhile I request soundlessness from Nagi astatine the office. Please springiness it a spell and don’t hide to permission feedback!  

Bon appétit! – JB 👨🏻‍🍳

Watch How To Make It

Life Of Dozer

Dozer pretending he’s present for originative input, not snacks.

The station JB’s Pommes Anna appeared archetypal connected RecipeTin Eats.