POTATOES ANNA
SOURCE: JULIA CHILD AND SIMONE BECK. MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING, VOLUME II.
By the time Baron Hausmann completed the ambitious second phase of renovating Paris in 1867, Napoleon III was still the emperor of France’s Second Republic; Anna Deslions, whose glamor and beauty amorally defied police authority, was the naughtiest prostitute as she notoriously ensnared the delight of the emperor’s nephew; Anna Judic was the funniest comedian of French opera, and her ménage à trois lifestyle provided gossip among her peers; Café Anglais was the leading restaurant of Paris, and Adolphe Dugléré was the innovative celebrity head chef behind its glory. Connecting all five degrees of separation leads to Pommes Anna or Potatoes Anna, a stunning layered cake of scalloped potatoes entirely baked in clarified butter and named after either of the two famous Annas by Duglére in Café Anglais during the reign of Napoleon III. Originally, Potatoes Anna required a specific eponymous copper pot, allowing the sizzling butter to crisp the bottom layer and sides while keeping the interior soft. However, the modern cost of cocotte Pommes Anna has called for cheaper alternatives, such as a well-seasoned iron skillet, to yield the same result and preserve the legacies of the two Annas.
Ingredients
8 ounces/230 grams unsalted butter OR 6 ounces/170 grams ghee
2.5-3 pounds/1.1-1.4 kilograms waxy or boiling potatoes, preferably Désirée, Yukon Gold, or Russet cultivars
Salt
Pepper
OPTIONAL: Minced parsley for garnish
Specific Equipment
Mandoline set to to 1/8-inch/0.32-cm thickness
Paper towels
8-inch/20-cm × 2-inch/5-cm round iron skillet
Saucepan with 7-inch/18-cm bottom diameter
Stainless steel cover for the iron skillet
Baking tray or roasting pan
Serves 6
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat. Skim off the scum, and collect the clear liquid while leaving the milky residue. If using ghee, melt over medium heat and set aside.
3. Peel the potatoes, and trim into cylinders.
4. Slice the potatoes evenly into round scallops with a mandoline. Dry the scalloped potatoes thoroughly with paper towels.
5. Pour around 1/4-inch/0.63-cm of clarified butter or molten ghee into the iron skillet. Set the iron skillet under moderate heat.
6. Once the iron skillet is hot enough, arrange the first layer of potatoes by placing a scalloped potato in the center and overlapping a circle of potatoes around it in the counter-clockwise direction. Overlap a second circle around the the first circle through a clockwise direction.
7. Season the first layer of scalloped potatoes lightly with salt and pepper and baste with a spoonful of clarified butter or ghee.
8. Set a second layer above the first layer by overlapping the scalloped potatoes around the circumference of the pan before filling in the center of the first layer with more potatoes. Season lightly the second layer with salt and pepper, and baste with another spoonful of clarified butter of ghee. Shake the skillet gently to prevent sticking.
9. Butter the bottom of the saucepan and press it down hard on the potatoes to force the layers altogether. Place the stainless steel cover over the potatoes.
10. Place the skillet over a roasting pan or baking tray, which will catch any excess butter or ghee that drip out of the skillet. Transfer the skillet of potatoes and its drip trap into an oven, and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Remove the skillet from the oven. Uncover and press the potatoes down hard again using the bottom of the saucepan. Return the skillet to the oven and continue baking the potatoes uncovered for another 20 to 25 minutes.
12. Remove the skillet from the oven. Drain out excess clarified butter or ghee, and reserve for another use. Run a knife or spatula around the edge of the skillet to loosen the potatoes.
13. Shake the skillet gently. Unmold the potatoes onto the serving platter by inverting the latter over the former and reversing the two to drop the potatoes onto the platter. Sprinkle the top layer with minced parsley.
