Potatoes Anna

This curious French recipe can be made with three basic ingredients: salt, potatoes and butter, although black pepper and garlic are also often added. It is a compact mass of potato slices whose final appearance is very similar to that of a Spanish potato omelette. It is usually used above all as side dish for meat and fish although there is no problem in consuming it as a starter. It is very easy to make and very tasty.

If you want to make a simple side dish for your roasts or baked fish, it is advisable to make some Anna Potatoes and then cut portions for each diner.

INGREDIENTS (4 people):

• 4 or 5 large potatoes
• 100 ml (half a cup)  of liquid butter, preferably clarified
• Black pepper
• Salt

First we clarify about 130 grams (4.6 oz) of butter, that is, we melt them in a saucepan over low heat and remove the surface layer with a slotted spoon. We decant the rest and the final part, deposited on the whitish background, is discarded. The decanted liquid is the clarified butter. If you don't want to make clarified butter, you can microwave about 100 grams (3.5 oz) of butter and use it as is.

We peel the potatoes and cut them into very thin slices. If you have a mandolin, it is time to use it. The best slice is the one that is almost transparent. As you cut them, deposit them on absorbent kitchen paper to remove excess water.

Now we are going to start layering this kind of cake. For this it is best to have a pan capable of going to the oven (with the metal handle). If you don't have it, you will have to make the entire recipe in the oven. I explain the way to do it in both cases.

With a frying pan that can go in the oven:

In this case, we pour a couple of tablespoons of liquid butter in the bottom and move the pan to soak it all. We place the potato slices at the bottom so that they slightly overlap until they are completely covered.

Paint this layer of potatoes with butter using a cooking brush and then season with salt and pepper (a teaspoon of salt and ground black pepper to taste). On top of this layer we place another one and repeat the operation consisting of painting with butter and seasoning. We finish with a layer of slices that we also paint with butter and season. Now we must place a pan or a plate on top, anything, that allows us to press the potato layers to facilitate their cohesion.

Place on the heat and let it cook for about 10 minutes, occasionally moving the pan in circles so that we make sure that the potatoes do not stick to the bottom. When the butter starts to bubble and you start to smell the potato fry, it's time to bake.

We preheat the oven to 250 degrees (480 F) and introduce the pan to it, pressing again on the layers (there are people who place a weight on top and keep it during baking, although it is not usually necessary).

We keep in the oven for 30 minutes, checking that the potatoes are soft. If not, we increase the time by checking every 5 minutes.

Once we are sure that the potatoes are well done we remove from the oven and with the help of a plate we turn. The face that touched the bottom will now be the top one and will be well browned, ready to eat.

With a plate because we do not have a pan that can go into the oven:

In this case the process is similar, only we do not fry before the fire but we directly take the source we have, assembled in the same way, to the oven at 250 degrees (480 F). During the first 20 minutes it should be covered with a lid or aluminum foil. Then we remove and let it do uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.

It is served hot and in portions, just as we would with a Spanish potato omelette. The slices will have compacted perfectly.

Remember to season each layer or it will be sweet. If you want to add garlic, you have to laminate it thinly and include it in each potato layer.

It is one of those silly recipes that you repeat often because of how easy it is and how tasty it is.