Chef Juliette
Stuffed Onions
Oignons farcis teach the discipline of the shell: mild onions hollowed without weakness, filled with their own flesh and Duxelle, braised in butter and stock, then glazed until the tops bronze.
Culinary Explorer
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Pommes de Terre Anna
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2203, Pommes de Terre Anna, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Pommes Anna turns potatoes, butter, salt, and patient arrangement into a bronzed, sliceable cake, crisp at both faces and tender through the middle, proof that exact technique can make abundance from almost nothing.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 35 min total
Yield4 servings
Pommes de Terre Anna (a layered, buttered potato cake) teaches that precision can be generous. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: every potato roundel must be equally thin and completely dry. Then butter can coat rather than skid, the circles settle into one cake, and the oven browns them instead of trapping water between them.
The book's kitchen assumed a proper Anna mould, butter ready at hand, and a cook practiced at turning the whole preparation onto a saucepan lid. Your equivalent is a 9-inch heavy ovenproof skillet, a flat heatproof plate, and a quantity scaled for four. The special mould and brigade portion are scaffolding and can go; the trimmed cylinders, washed and dried slices, reversed overlapping circles, seasoning and butter on every layer, covered cooking, turning, and draining are the dish, and they stay. I add one short stovetop set because a heavy home skillet needs help matching the immediate bottom heat of the dedicated copper mould. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The finished Pommes Anna should emerge as one coherent cake, deep butter-gold across both faces and tender enough for a knife to pass through without crushing its layers. Before you begin, set the mandoline to ⅛ inch and spread out two clean towels. Uniform slicing and thorough drying decide the dish before the first roundel meets the pan.
Pommes Anna belongs to Parisian grand cuisine and is traditionally said to honor Anna Deslions, a celebrated courtesan whose table carried unusual influence in the city's dining rooms. Accounts disagree over every detail of the dedication, but the cooking practice is clear: potatoes and butter were layered in a dedicated two-part copper cocotte that made turning and even browning easier. The dish passed naturally from grand kitchens to bourgeois tables because its luxury lies in attention rather than rarity.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large firm yellow potatoes
Quantity
5 to 6 potatoes, 2½ pounds (1.15 kg) before trimming, yielding about 6 cups (1.4 L / 900 g)
peeled, trimmed into cylinders, and sliced into ⅛-inch (3 mm) roundels
unsalted butter
Quantity
10 tablespoons (150 ml / 140 g)
melted
fine sea salt
Quantity
1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g)
finely ground white pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large firm yellow potatoespeeled, trimmed into cylinders, and sliced into ⅛-inch (3 mm) roundels | 5 to 6 potatoes, 2½ pounds (1.15 kg) before trimming, yielding about 6 cups (1.4 L / 900 g) |
| unsalted buttermelted | 10 tablespoons (150 ml / 140 g) |
| fine sea salt | 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g) |
| finely ground white pepper | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •9-inch (23 cm) heavy ovenproof skillet with lid or foil
- •Mandoline with hand guard or a very sharp slicing knife
- •Flat heatproof plate or rimless metal lid, larger than the skillet
- •Rimmed baking sheet to catch hot butter during turning
- •Lint-free kitchen towels
Instructions
- 1
Prepare oven and pan
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C), or 400°F (200°C) with a fan, with a rack in the lower third. Melt the butter gently without browning it. Brush about 1½ tablespoons over the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) heavy ovenproof skillet, reserve 1 tablespoon for the second face, and keep the remainder fluid for layering.
- 2
Cut and dry
Peel the potatoes and trim their long sides into rough cylinders, then square off the ends so the mandoline produces even roundels. Save the trimmings for soup or mash. Slice the cylinders crosswise into ⅛-inch (3 mm) roundels, wash them in a bowl of cold water as the book directs, and drain well. Spread them between clean lint-free towels and press until thoroughly dry. Wet roundels slip, trap water, and refuse to bronze; if the towels show damp patches, blot the potatoes again before proceeding.
Use the mandoline's hand guard. Exact slices matter, but no potato cake is worth a fingertip. - 3
Build reversed circles
Combine the salt and white pepper. In the cold buttered skillet, arrange an outer ring of potato roundels, overlapping each by about half. Lay the next concentric circle in the opposite direction and fill the centre with a neat roundel. Season lightly, then brush with melted butter. Build five or six layers in the same way, reversing the lay of neighboring circles and offsetting the seams from the layer below. Season and butter every layer, dividing both evenly. The first layer becomes the visible crown, so take your time with it; the hidden layers need order, not ornament.
- 4
Set and bake
Set the skillet over medium heat for 7 to 9 minutes, rotating it once if your burner heats unevenly. Listen for a steady, quiet sizzle and watch for the outermost potatoes to turn golden at their edges. Smoking butter means the heat is too high, so slide the pan off the burner, lower the flame, and continue gently. Cover the skillet tightly with its lid or foil and bake for 28 to 32 minutes. A thin knife inserted at the centre should meet almost no resistance. If the centre is still firm, keep the pan covered and bake in 5-minute intervals; if the rim is already dark, lower the oven to 375°F (190°C) while the middle finishes.
- 5
Turn and equalize
Remove the cover and loosen the edge with a thin flexible spatula. Set the skillet on a rimmed baking sheet, place a flat heatproof plate slightly larger than the pan over it, grip both firmly with dry oven mitts, and invert in one confident motion, keeping your hands clear of any escaping butter. If the cake clings, return the skillet upright, warm its base over low heat for 30 seconds, loosen the edge again, and retry. Ça se rattrape. Brush the empty skillet with the reserved butter, then slide the cake back so its paler face lies against the pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, or return it uncovered to the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until the second face matches the first. If a section breaks during the turn, fit it back into place, press gently, and give the cake another 5 minutes in the pan so the layers bind again.
- 6
Drain and serve
Invert the Pommes Anna onto the heatproof plate once more. Secure it with a broad spatula and tilt the plate carefully over a bowl to drain away the free butter, exactly as the book directs, then slide the cake onto a warm serving platter. Let it rest for 8 to 10 minutes so the layers settle into clean wedges. Cut at the table and serve while the faces remain crisp and the centre is buttery and tender. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose large, firm yellow potatoes with enough starch to bind but enough structure to hold a clean roundel. Very floury potatoes crumble during the turn, while tiny waxy potatoes make the layering needlessly fiddly.
- •The book gives potatoes, butter, and seasoning, nothing else. Garlic, cheese, and herbs belong to other good potato dishes. Pommes Anna needs its own clear butter-and-potato character.
- •We don't apologize for butter, but we do drain the excess. The butter between the layers conducts heat and carries browning; what runs free at the end has finished its work and can be strained, chilled, and used for sautéing.
- •A heavy skillet with gently sloped sides releases the cake more easily than one with sharp corners. Well-seasoned cast iron works beautifully, as does an oven-safe nonstick pan rated for the full oven temperature.
- •Serve Pommes Anna with roast chicken, beef, lamb, or a simply cooked fish. Let the main course choose the wine; the potatoes are here to catch the juices.
Advance Preparation
- •The potatoes may be peeled and trimmed into whole cylinders up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them submerged in cold water, then slice, wash, and dry them immediately before assembly.
- •For a dinner party, cook and turn out the cake up to 2 hours ahead, then cool it uncovered. Re-crisp it on a buttered baking sheet at 425°F (220°C) for 8 to 10 minutes before serving. Fresh from the pan is best, but this keeps the structure intact.
- •Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat wedges in a buttered skillet over medium-low heat so the cut faces bronze as the centres warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 230g)
Calories
425 calories
Total Fat
29 g
Saturated Fat
18 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
75 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
39 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
5 g
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