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.
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Pommes de Terre Parmesane
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2238, Pommes de Terre Parmesane, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Small Duchesse potato galettes worked with Parmesan, gilded with egg, capped with delicate cheese shavings, and baked to a burnished finish, a precise classical side scaled for one home tray.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Holiday
20 min
Active Time
8 min cook•28 min total
Yield4 servings (12 small galettes)
Pommes de Terre Parmesane (Parmesan Duchesse potato cakes) teaches the discipline of the classical variation: change the flavour, keep the structure. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is that the Duchesse paste must already hold a neat ridge. The oven can colour a sound galette, but it cannot repair a slack one.
The original assumed its Duchesse preparation was waiting at the potato station, with buttered trays in rotation and an oven that recovered its heat at once. Here, the book's per-pound formula becomes one pound of paste, enough for twelve small galettes and four people. A quarter-sheet pan, a thoroughly preheated oven, and the upper rack replace the brigade equipment honestly. Batch holding is scaffolding and goes; the two-ounce cheese ratio, egg gilding, Parmesan cap, and seven-to-eight-minute finish are the dish and stay.
Done properly, the galettes arrive plump and butter-gold, with nutty Parmesan running through the tender centres and bronzed into delicate caps. Work the cheese into paste that is warm, not hot, then test one portion before shaping the rest. That judgment of consistency is the step that matters most.
Pommes de Terre Parmesane belongs to the classical Parisian dining-room repertoire, as a named garnish built from pommes Duchesse rather than a provincial potato dish. It traveled through professional kitchens as a direct variation on the Chester galette: the paste, egg gilding, shape, and oven finish remained fixed while Parmesan supplied a drier, nuttier cheese character. The Italian cheese does not make the preparation Italian; the title records one disciplined substitution within a French family of potato garnishes.
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Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared plain Duchesse potato paste
Quantity
about 2 cups (475 ml / 1 lb / 454 g) from Pommes de Terre Duchesse au Chester (No. 2213)
kept warm and stopped before its Chester addition
Parmesan
Quantity
2/3 cup (160 ml / 2 oz / 57 g)
finely grated
Parmesan
Quantity
12 broad shavings, about 1/2 cup loosely packed (120 ml / 1 oz / 28 g)
shaved paper-thin for capping
large egg
Quantity
1
beaten until uniform
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
softened for the tray
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared plain Duchesse potato pastekept warm and stopped before its Chester addition | about 2 cups (475 ml / 1 lb / 454 g) from Pommes de Terre Duchesse au Chester (No. 2213) |
| Parmesanfinely grated | 2/3 cup (160 ml / 2 oz / 57 g) |
| Parmesanshaved paper-thin for capping | 12 broad shavings, about 1/2 cup loosely packed (120 ml / 1 oz / 28 g) |
| large eggbeaten until uniform | 1 |
| unsalted buttersoftened for the tray | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Quarter-sheet pan, about 9 by 13 inches (23 by 33 cm)
- •Fine grater
- •Vegetable peeler
- •Pastry brush
- •Thin flexible spatula
Instructions
- 1
Ready Oven and Tray
Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat it thoroughly to 425°F (220°C). Butter a quarter-sheet pan from edge to edge. Have ready the plain Duchesse potato paste called for in Pommes de Terre Duchesse au Chester (No. 2213), following that preparation only to the point where its Chester would be added. Its formula remains in its own entry; this recipe changes the cheese and nothing else.
- 2
Work In Parmesan
Fold the finely grated Parmesan into the warm Duchesse paste until evenly dispersed, working just enough to combine it. Pinch off a spoonful and set it down: it should stand in a soft mound with a clean edge. If it spreads, don't add flour. Ça se rattrape: spread the paste on a cool plate for five minutes, gather it again, and retest. If it cracks, work a portion briefly between warm palms before shaping; cream would soften the structure too far.
Warm paste accepts the grated cheese evenly. Paste that is piping hot melts out the Parmesan fat, while cold paste becomes difficult to mould without cracks. - 3
Shape Small Galettes
Divide the paste into twelve equal portions, about 1 1/2 ounces (43 g) each. Mould each into a small, tidy galette about 2 inches (5 cm) across and 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick, then arrange them on the buttered tray with space between them. Smooth split edges with a warm fingertip, but leave the surfaces slightly hand-worked; cooking well is not cooking fancy.
- 4
Gild and Cap
Brush each galette lightly with beaten egg, coating the top and visible sides without letting egg pool around the base. Lay one paper-thin Parmesan shaving over each top, piecing together two smaller flakes when the brittle cheese refuses to make a perfect round. If egg gathers on the tray, blot it away before baking; otherwise it sets into a rubbery skirt around the potato.
A vegetable peeler drawn firmly across a block of Parmesan makes broad, thin shavings. Parmesan will not bend like Chester, so overlapping brittle flakes is the honest equivalent of the original sliced cap. - 5
Colour and Serve
Bake for seven to eight minutes, until the galettes are heated through, the egg gilding is deep gold, and the Parmesan caps have blistered to amber at their ragged edges. If the tops remain pale after eight minutes, place the tray beneath a fully heated broiler for fifteen to thirty seconds, watching without interruption because Parmesan turns quickly. Rest them on the tray for one minute, then lift them with a thin spatula and serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use a dry, mature Parmesan and grate the portion for the paste very finely. Coarse pieces remain pebbly inside the potato instead of seasoning it evenly.
- •Taste the prepared paste after the Parmesan goes in before reaching for salt. The cheese brings plenty of its own, and the linked Duchesse preparation is already seasoned.
- •Butter the tray generously. We don't apologize for butter, and here it also releases the egg-gilded bases cleanly.
- •Serve the galettes beside roast veal, beef, poultry, or glazed ham. They are rich enough to need no ornamental garnish and sturdy enough to receive good roasting juices.
Advance Preparation
- •The times given begin once the referenced Duchesse paste is ready. The Parmesan-enriched galettes may be shaped up to four hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Brush with egg and add the Parmesan caps only when the oven is hot, letting the tray stand at room temperature for fifteen minutes before baking.
- •Leftovers keep for two days under cover in the refrigerator. Reheat them on a buttered tray at 400°F (200°C) for five to seven minutes; a microwave softens the gilding and toughens the cheese cap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 140g)
Calories
300 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
175 mg
Sodium
650 mg
Total Carbohydrates
20 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
12 g
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