Pommes Anna: This French Potato Dish Is Crisp-Tender Perfection. Here's How to Make It.

Let Melissa Clark shows you how to make this simple showstopper easily and beautifully.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/how-to-make-pommes-anna

https://archive.ph/iiZG9



With only two main ingredients, butter and potatoes, pommes Anna is a minimalist triumph of French technique. It is also one of the more challenging potato dishes to prepare and a true glory to any cook who makes it correctly. This guide is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, the 10 definitive dishes every modern cook should master.



Why Master It?

Crisp frites, creamy gratins — the French do beautiful things with potatoes. And of all the magnificent potato dishes they make, pommes Anna is a classic, one that deserves more acclaim beyond France. A buttery cake composed of paper-thin slices of potato, pommes Anna is similar to potato gratin in the way it is layered and baked. But unlike a gratin, which is lightly browned on top and creamy soft all the way through, pommes Anna emerges from the oven with a tender, slippery interior and a crunchy golden crust. It is a gorgeous contrast in textures.

To make it, the potatoes are trimmed into cylinders (to ensure a neat and attractive shape), sliced and then layered into a skillet sizzling with clarified butter. The potatoes are first cooked on top of the stove, to sear and brown them on the bottom, then moved to the oven to bake until the slices in the center turn soft. After baking, the pan is inverted onto a platter and presented as a stunning, burnished cake of crunchy potato petals. You can dress up the basic recipe with an array of aromatics, cheeses and other vegetables. (Here, we’ve added an optional touch of garlic for a sweetly pungent contrast to the mild potatoes.) But pommes Anna doesn’t need it. The simple flavor of potato and butter is always a comfort, but the interplay of crisp and soft in this dish elevates it to another plane.


“Harvesting Potatoes During the Flood of the Rhine in 1852” by Gustave Brion (1824-1877). Credit...RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY

A Brief History

Pommes Anna was created in the mid-19th century by the chef Adolphe Dugléré at Café Anglais in Paris. It was most likely named after Anna Deslions, one of the café’s grandes cocottes, who is said to have entertained an international coterie of princes and other dignitaries in a private salon above the dining room. It’s telling that the dish was named for a glamorous courtesan. At that time, the potato still had a somewhat shady reputation among the French, having been considered poisonous for centuries after its introduction to Europe. It seemed delectable, yet just a little bit dangerous.

snip

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018512-pommes-anna

https://archive.ph/5hRaA



Step 1
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a rack in the middle and set a rimmed baking sheet on top of it.

Step 2
Trim potatoes into cylinders, peeling any skin left after trimming. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice into ⅛-inch slices and blot dry with paper towels. You should have about 8½ cups.

Step 3
In a heavy 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons clarified butter over medium heat. When hot, carefully place 1 potato slice in the middle, then quickly place more slices around it, overlapping them clockwise to make a ring. Place a second ring to surround the first, going counterclockwise. Continue to the edge of the pan, alternating the direction in which the potato rings overlap. Sprinkle with a generous ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with another 2 tablespoons butter.

Step 4
Create second layer of potatoes, just as you did the first. Dot a third of the garlic slices, if using, on top of this layer of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper; drizzle with butter.

snip