Recipes

Potato boulangère

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on April 1 2022 at 17:02

There are few totally new recipes but sometimes just thinking of one in a different way as Joe Woodhouse has done with his gorgeously crispy potato boulangère in his inspiring new book Your Daily Veg takes them to another level.

Joe writes: I used to make this with the potatoes cut into slices and all laid out flat, which works just fine. But standing the potato slices up gives a brilliant crunchy element on top, while the bottom half steams and softens, going wonderfully creamy.

When slicing the potato, a mandolin is great but by hand is fine; what’s important is to slice them as evenly as possible.

SERVES 6

– 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter

– 3 onions, finely sliced

– 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

– 3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked

– 1.25kg (2lb 12oz) floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or Desirée, peeled and finely sliced

– 300ml (10fl oz) vegetable stock

– sea salt flakes and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4.

2. Melt half the butter in a large pan that will hold all of the ingredients over medium heat and add the onions, garlic and thyme leaves. Cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the potato slices to coat well with the buttery onions. Season well with salt and pepper.

3. In a 30 × 20cm (12 × 8 inch) baking dish, roughly stack the potatoes upright along the length of the dish. Their edges should point upwards like a roughly shuffled pack of cards and they should sit snugly.

Pour over the vegetable stock and dot the remaining butter evenly over the top of the potatoes.

4. Roast the potatoes in the oven for 50–60 minutes. As they cook they will become creamy and tender underneath and the top edges will crisp. If browning too much on top, cover loosely with foil until tender.

5. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

What to drink: You're perhaps unlikely to pair a wine with the potatoes alone but they'd be an ideal accompaniment for roast lamb or beef so match whatever meat you're serving with it or, if you're keeping it veggie take account of what you've got on the side.

Extracted from Your Daily Veg by Joe Woodhouse, published by Kyle at £22. Photograph © Joe Woodhouse.

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