Crispy Potatoes Anna – Pommes Anna

Preliminaries: Preheat oven to 450°F. Set one rack in very bottom level, and another just above it. Clarify the butter: melt it, skim off scum, and spoon the clear liquid butter off the milky residue. Peel the potatoes; trim into cylinders about 1¼" in diameter so that you will have uniform slices, then slice cylinders into even rounds ¼" thick. You should have about 8 cups. Dry thoroughly in paper towels. (Do not wash potatoes after peeling, because you want the starch to remain in, so potatoes will mass more easily into a cake.)

Arranging the potatoes in the dish: Pour ¼" of the clarified butter into the pan and set over moderate heat. When hot, start rapidly arranging the first layer of potatoes in the bottom of the pan as follows. Arrange one potato slice in the center of the pan. Overlap a circle of potato slices around it. Overlapping in the opposite (counter-clockwise) direction rapidly arrange a second circle around the first and continue with another (clockwise) overlapping circle if necessary, to rim the edge of the pan. Pour on a spoonful of the clarified butter. Reversing direction again, rapidly arrange an evenly overlapping layer of potatoes around circumference of pan, fill in the center with more potatoes, and baste with another spoonful of butter. Shake pan not too roughly by handle to be sure potatoes are not sticking, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Continue filling the pan with layers of potatoes basted with butter and seasoned with salt and pepper, always being sure that the layer around the circumference of the pan is evenly spaced. Remember, also, to shake the pan by its handle from time to time, to be sure potatoes are not sticking. Fill the pan completely, allowing potatoes to form a ¼ to ½" dome in the center; they will sink during cooking. You should have added enough butter so that you can see it bubbling up the sides of the pan; excess will be poured out after cooking.

Baking: Butter bottom of saucepan and press it down hard on the potatoes, forcing the layers together. Butter underside of cover, place it on the potato pan set on upper of the two oven racks. Set drip pan under the potatoes, on rack below, to catch bubbling-up of butter (this could otherwise set fire to your oven). Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, press potatoes down hard again with bottom of saucepan, and continue baking 20 to 25 minutes more, uncovered. (If baked all the time with cover on, potatoes tend to pick up an off taste.) Press down potatoes again before end of baking. Gently draw an edge of the potatoes away from side of dish: potatoes are done if brown and crusty. Bake 5 minutes or so more if necessary.

Unmolding and serving: When potatoes are done, place cover slightly askew on pan and drain out excess butter, which may be used again in other cooking. Run spatula around edge of pan. Shake pan, and if potatoes have stuck to bottom, run spatula carefully under potatoes to loosen them, but disturb them as little as possible. If you feel it will be easier to unmold them first onto a baking sheet and slide them onto the serving dish, do so; otherwise invert the dish over the potato pan, reverse the two, and potatoes will drop onto dish. They should look like a brown cake.