Buttered Potatoes
Pommes Anna is a classic French dish of, elegantly overlapped circular bands of layered potatoes cooked in a very large amount of melted butter and decidedly not calorie-free!!! But compared to Tartiflette which is made with lots of butter and heavy cream Pommes Anna is not so calorie loaded! But if you are looking for a similarly stacked dish of potato circles try Pommes Boulangére for a light version. With only 2 ingredients though, this buttered potato dish is simple to make, and when it cooks to a crispy, golden light brown on the outside and soft buttery potato inside it is magnificent!
✅About
This potato dish is generally credited with having been created during the time of Napoleon III by the chef Adolphe Dugléré, when he was head chef at the Café Anglais, the leading Paris restaurant of the 19th century, where he reputedly named the dish for one of the grandes cocottes of the period.
There is disagreement about which beauty the dish was named after, the actress Dame Judic (real name: Anna Damiens), Anna Untel, or Anna DesLions. ooh la la!
A special double baking dish made of copper called une cocotte à pommes Anna is still made in France for the cooking of this dish. It consists of upper and lower halves that fit into one another so that the whole vessel with its contents can be inverted during cooking.
The dish can be made quite a few hours in advance, and then reheated, covered, in a hot oven.
📋Ingredients
- small waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte or Russet
- butter
That's it! (Other than the seasoning, salt and pepper.)
🔢Instructions
- Start your oven hot 425°F/220°C/Gas 7.
- Peel the potatoes and slice very thinly, ideally using a mandolin to ensure the potatoes are evenly sliced for even cooking.
- Thickly butter a deep ovenproof dish and line the sides with potato slices placed close together and attached firmly to the butter.
- Cover the bottom also and sprinkle with salt, pepper and brush with the melted butter.
- Then cover with another layer of potatoes, seasoning, and butter and carry on till the dish is almost full.
- Cover with buttered paper and cook for 25 minutes. Press down the potatoes a few times during cooking to help form a more solid cake.
- Uncover and cook for a further 25 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
- To serve pass the blade of a knife around the inside of the dish.
- Hold a heated plate over it and invert, giving a sharp tap as the plate is set down to turn out the contents.
- The inside should be soft and the outside crust crisp and brown.
- Use a cast-iron skillet instead of an ovenproof dish, and start the cooking process by placing the skillet over a high heat for 2-4 minutes until the butter sizzles; then transfer to the oven.
- Don't cover with buttered paper; just leave uncovered, but reduce the oven temperature to a moderate heat 375 degrees F/190 degrees C/Gas 5. If you need more help with oven temperatures, then use this handy Oven Temperature Conversion Chart..
💡Tips
When making a dish like this one with layered potatoes or other vegetables use a mandolin which is almost necessary so that the slices are the same thickness. This allows the pieces of vegetables to cook evenly so that the dish does not end up having some pieces crunchie and undercooked and others mushy from overcooking. Not to mention how much easier and quicker prep is with this type of kitchen tool.
Similar Recipes
All the dishes below as this one is, have a similar style to a delicious North American dish, scalloped potatoes.
- If you are concerned about the heavy use of butter in this recipe but love potatoes, then cook up a surprisingly delicious dish called Pommes Boulangére. It is a typically French method of oven-cooking potatoes. The simple ingredients may surprise you, onion, a sprig of thyme, olive oil, and vegetable stock.
- Pommes Lyonnaise is another sliced layered potato recipe that has a lovely mix of herbs and spices, onions, oil, and butter. It starts on the stovetop, finishes in the oven, and fills your kitchen with such a delicious aroma.
- Gratin Dauphinois is a similar dish primarily made of sliced potatoes but with the addition of cream and garlic is turned into a truly magnificent French dish that can be served as a side dish or just on its own. If you include cheese in this dish it becomes Gratin Savoyard, another famous French potato recipe.
📖 Recipe
Prep Like a Pro
Before you start cooking, chop, measure, and prep every ingredient, and gather your tools.
This simple habit reduces stress, prevents overcooking, and instantly improves your meals. Mise en Place - "Everything in its place."
Pommes Anna
Ingredients
- 1 kg small waxy potatoes such as Charlotte or Russet
- 150 g of butter melted
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Turn on oven to hot 425°F/220°C/Gas 7.
- Peel the potatoes and slice very thinly, ideally using a mandolin.
- Thickly butter a deep ovenproof dish and line the sides with potato slices placed close together and attached firmly to the butter.
- Cover the bottom also and sprinkle with salt, pepper and brush with the melted butter.
- Then cover with another layer of potatoes, seasoning, and butter and carry on till the dish is almost full.
- Cover with buttered paper and cook for 25 minutes. Press down the potatoes a few times during cooking to help form a more solid cake.
- Uncover and cook for a further 25 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife.
- To serve pass the blade of a knife around the inside of the dish.
- Hold a heated plate over it and invert, giving a sharp tap as the plate is set down to turn out the contents.
- The inside should be soft and the outside crust crisp and brown.
- Use a cast-iron skillet instead of an ovenproof dish, and start the cooking process by placing the skillet over a high heat for 2-4 minutes until the butter sizzles; then transfer to the oven.
- Don't cover with buttered paper; just leave uncovered, but reduce the temperature to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5).
Loved it, tweaked it, or not your "cup of tea"... I’d really love to hear how it went for you.