L'il Pomme Anna

By kimvess

Ingredients

• 6-8 Tbsp. of butter
• 1 1/2 - 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh thyme
• Small clove garlic, minced (optional)
• A muffin tin
• A baking sheet

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from instructables.com

Preparation

Step 1

And, the amount of butter you use is really up to you. When I make this, I probably only use 4-6 Tbsp. of butter and save the rest. (Herb butter comes in handy!)

A note about substitutions: The French will never forgive you if you don't make this according to my strict interpretation. Nah, not really, but I definitely recommend using small Yukon Gold potatoes. They're the right size. Not as creamy as a Idaho spud, but they'll hold together a bit more, which is important for this dish. But I do very strongly suggest you use fresh thyme. It makes a difference; thyme is a true partner in this recipe.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the sliced potatoes into a bowl, drizzle half the herb butter mixture in, and season generously with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Get down and dirty with your potatoes. Mix thoroughly to coat everything with the herb butter.

Lay a large piece of thyme in the center of each muffin-settin' spot and start layering your potatoes in a roughly circular manner, building up a tower of potato slices that spires a little bit above the fill line. These potato towers will fall a bit as they cook, so give them a little extra height — just make sure they are as tight and compact as possible.

After 30 minutes, carefully remove the foil. Using a cake spatula or a butter knife and tongs, carefully lift out each Anna, move it over to your baking sheet, and carefully turn it over so that the thyme leaf you initially placed on the bottom is now on the top. If you have leftover herb butter and aren't counting calories, you could drizzle that on these potato stacks at this time. Oh-so-carefully slide the baking sheet back into the oven and crank up the heat to 450 degrees. (Don't cover them this time; you want them to crisp up nice and good.)

After about 15 minutes, your L'il Pomme Annas will probably be ready. You don't want them to burn, but you do want some crispness on the top and sides. Once you remove them from the oven, you can serve them immediately or let them cool. They'll be tasty whether they're hot or cold.


Makes 12 L'il Pomme Annas,