The potato thing of infinite joy
This is my first public livejournal post in two years. It is also the day my boyfriend and I opened a bank account together, worked on my house together, and toasted the beginning of our new life together with a bottle of wine we had been saving for a year. A brand new mandolin and a pretty red gratin dish were slumbering in my cabinet, and I wanted to make something special. I chose the crispy potato roast I had seen at Smitten Kitchen and rechristened it the potato thing of infinite joy. Its delicate layers of browned potatoes had been calling me ever since I first saw it two months ago. Now, at last, school was out and I had the time, the supplies, and a reason to celebrate. I spent thirty minutes puzzling over how to assemble the mandolin and then I was off.
An hour later, I had sliced four pounds of potatoes, five shallots, and none of my fingers. The potatoes coiled beautifully around my gratin dish, and I doused them with butter and oil before popping them in the oven. Like many things in life, the finished product was great without being perfect. The beautifully browned tops of the potatoes were actually a little chewy, and they crunched absurdly loudly between our teeth. The shallots I had sprinkled over the top had burned almost literally to cinders, and the pictures of the raw dish turned out significantly better than the photographs of the finished product. Yet, in spite of those disappointments, my boyfriend and I finished nearly the whole pan. The potatoes were soft and creamy in the middle, and the shallot slices I had wedged between them melted on our tongues. Even the burnt shallots tasted good; they exploded when we bit them, releasing a smoky, onion-y flavor. What I loved best was the way that each bite tasted a little different. Sometimes I found tiny potato coins as crunchy as potato chips; other times, I encountered sprigs of roasted thyme or crumbles of goat cheese with crispy brown bottoms where they had clung to the edge of the pan. That variety was what compelled us to go back for helping after helping until nearly the whole thing was gone.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
*3 lb. potatoes, unpeeled and very thinly sliced
*6 tbsp. melted butter, olive oil, or grapeseed oil (or a mix)
*Sea salt and white pepper
*5 shallots, peeled and very thinly sliced
*8 sprigs thyme
*Hunk of crumbled goat cheese
*4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pour half of butter/oil into the bottom of your baking dish and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. (I used a 10-in. oval gratin dish and a mixture of melted butter and herb-infused grapeseed oil.)
3. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish, interspersing them with slices of shallot. (You won't have enough shallots to put one between every potato slice, so arrange them as evenly as possible). Pour remaining butter/oil over the top, and season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for thirty minutes. Remove foil, and bake for an additional forty-five minutes. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and bake an additional thirty minutes. Sprinkle with goat cheese and bake an additional ten minutes. (The original recipe did not call for the dish to be covered at all, but I'm hoping that the foil would keep the tops of the potatoes from getting too crispy).
5. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and serve immediately
An hour later, I had sliced four pounds of potatoes, five shallots, and none of my fingers. The potatoes coiled beautifully around my gratin dish, and I doused them with butter and oil before popping them in the oven. Like many things in life, the finished product was great without being perfect. The beautifully browned tops of the potatoes were actually a little chewy, and they crunched absurdly loudly between our teeth. The shallots I had sprinkled over the top had burned almost literally to cinders, and the pictures of the raw dish turned out significantly better than the photographs of the finished product. Yet, in spite of those disappointments, my boyfriend and I finished nearly the whole pan. The potatoes were soft and creamy in the middle, and the shallot slices I had wedged between them melted on our tongues. Even the burnt shallots tasted good; they exploded when we bit them, releasing a smoky, onion-y flavor. What I loved best was the way that each bite tasted a little different. Sometimes I found tiny potato coins as crunchy as potato chips; other times, I encountered sprigs of roasted thyme or crumbles of goat cheese with crispy brown bottoms where they had clung to the edge of the pan. That variety was what compelled us to go back for helping after helping until nearly the whole thing was gone.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
*3 lb. potatoes, unpeeled and very thinly sliced
*6 tbsp. melted butter, olive oil, or grapeseed oil (or a mix)
*Sea salt and white pepper
*5 shallots, peeled and very thinly sliced
*8 sprigs thyme
*Hunk of crumbled goat cheese
*4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pour half of butter/oil into the bottom of your baking dish and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. (I used a 10-in. oval gratin dish and a mixture of melted butter and herb-infused grapeseed oil.)
3. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish, interspersing them with slices of shallot. (You won't have enough shallots to put one between every potato slice, so arrange them as evenly as possible). Pour remaining butter/oil over the top, and season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for thirty minutes. Remove foil, and bake for an additional forty-five minutes. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and bake an additional thirty minutes. Sprinkle with goat cheese and bake an additional ten minutes. (The original recipe did not call for the dish to be covered at all, but I'm hoping that the foil would keep the tops of the potatoes from getting too crispy).
5. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and serve immediately