On October 25th, I wrote of the pleasurable week that Kay and I spent in Beaune, France, the capital of the burgundy wine region. It is a relatively small city, but with ample numbers of fine restaurants, good hotels, antique shops, unique art shops, wine (mostly burgundy) shops, cafes, et cetera. While there, we enjoyed the people of Beaune; we ate well, especially at the small, but highly regarded (and justifiably so) restaurant that was just a half-block from our hotel; we had plenty of burgundy; we did all the "touristy" things; we bought antique gold and silver pieces; we bought some sculptures; and we had a helluva lot of fun.
You may remember that the small restaurant that I have written about was the one that introduced us to Pommes Anna, and you also may remember that we could hardly wait to make that potato dish in our own kitchen when we returned to the States, but we needed a recipe. From my daughter's reference, we found that recipe on page 418 in "One Potato Two Potato," a 590 page book containing three hundred recipes, all of which are devoted to the fine art of cooking potatoes, from the simple to the elegant. Until just within the last couple of weeks, I imagined that three hundred recipes relating to the cooking of potatoes would have covered all of those in existence. Wouldn't you? Not true!
Since our post appeared, I have received two communications with nearly identical recipes for Pomme Galettes attached from folks who live quite a distance from one another and who do not know each other. You will not find the recipe for Galettes in "One Potato Two Potato;" so, if you can't find it there, we might be the only mass-produced spot that has it.
It is clear that although the two dishes (Pommes Anna and Pomme Galettes) are very similar, the Galettes are simpler and easier to make. For both Anna and Galettes, you should use russet potatoes, because they are starchy, and starchy potatoes have a lower water content than waxy potatoes--less water means a crispier outcome. Galette is a French word, and it means pancake; thus, when you cook Pomme Galette, you are preparing a crunchy potato pancake, and it is not at all like the Jewish latkes.
Last evening we had some Pomme Galettes with our grilled cod and cranberry salad. Our meal was accompanied by some well-chilled, crisp Delicato 2005 Chardonnay. It was a great evening.
How to make Pomme Galettes:
Ingredients:
1lb peeled russet potatoes sliced 1/8" thick, 2 tbs olive oil, 2 tbs melted unsalted butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Toss dried potato slices with the oil, melted butter, salt and pepper. (You should be a little generous with the salt, because it both seasons and draws water from the potatoes thus helping them turn brown during the cooking.).
- Heat a large non-stick oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.
- Form Galettes by overlapping the potato slices in four 3" wide circles, layering until all slices are used.
- Cook until golden brown on one side, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Carefully turn over the Galettes, then transfer the pan to the oven, and cook until tender, about ten minutes.
The beauty of this recipe is that the dish can be made several hours in advance of dinner, then you need only warm them when it's time to dine.
Bon appetit,
DAW
(Photo by Alfonso Pierantonio at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kruder396/340821582/; license details there.)
YUM! I really must try this recipe. I have had similar dishes and really enjoyed them.
Posted by: dW | November 13, 2007 at 01:35 PM