Potato Dishes
Anna Potatoes (Pommes Anna)
Thin slices of potato layered in overlapping circles in a hot oiled pan, baked into a golden cake, turned out and cut into wedges.
- Serves 10
- Oven-baked, about 45 min
- Rest 10 min before turning out
- French
Method
Trim the raw peeled potatoes into cylinders about 32 mm (1¼ in) in diameter.
Cut them into thin slices and season, but do not rewash.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and arrange the slices neatly in the bottom, overlapping one another.
Arrange an overlapping layer around the sides of the pan.
Fill the pan with the remainder of the potatoes.
Brush with oil and cook in a moderate oven (180°C (160°C fan)) for 45 minutes. Press down with a slice from time to time while cooking.
When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Turn out on to a serving dish and cut. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
See also
Who was Anna?
Pommes Anna is generally credited to Adolphe Dugléré, a pupil of Carême and head chef of the Café Anglais, the most fashionable restaurant in Paris under Napoleon III. He is said to have named it after one of the society beauties of the day; accounts disagree whether she was the actress Anna Judic or Anna Deslions.
Classically the potatoes are cooked in a great deal of clarified butter, and in France there is even a special lidded copper pan, the cocotte à pommes Anna, which can be turned over during cooking. This card uses oil, as many professional kitchens did.
Shopping list for 10 portions
Fruit & veg
Oils, vinegars & sauces
Fresh herbs
Store cupboard (check you have)
Converted from the original Cookeryonline recipe card (No. 3).