Pommes Anna

Looking for an impressive and delicious baked potato side dish for Christmas or a dinner party? Try Pommes Anna! This layered French potato dish is made up of simple ingredients (potatoes, clarified butter) for the most divine textured layered potatoes that are crispy like a chip on the top and tender and velvety on the inside. Find out why Pommes Anna should make an appearance at your Christmas table! This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.

"Pommes Anna is the supreme potato dish of all time," according to Simone Beck and Julia Child. This layered potato dish made with just butter and potatoes is widely believed to have originated during the reign of Napoleon III by the renowned chef Adolphe Dugléré, a protégé of the legendary Carême. While serving as head chef at Paris's premier 19th-century restaurant "Café Anglais", Dugléré is said to have named the creation after one of the grandes coquettes of the era. However, there remains debate over which beauty inspired the name whether it was actress Anna Judic or courtesan Anna Deslions.

Pommes Anna is one of my favourite potato side dishes because of the crispiness of the potatoes on top and honestly, I am unable to resist it if I see it on a menu. I am going to have to get a bit bossy here and really insist that you give these Pommes Anna a try. It is so delicious and that's because we use a simple base of Pommes Anna but then add a secret ingredient that really makes it pop. Are you ready for it?

It's vinegar salt!

Fans of salt and vinegar potato chips will absolutely love this salt but even if you aren't a huge fan, vinegar salt balances the richness of Pommes Anna perfectly. We also top the Pommes Anna with some sour cream, caviar and dill but that's optional. I think a strong case could be made for just adding vinegar salt. This is the vinegar salt that I used; I tried making my own but it just wasn't as good as this one. Seriously put this on all of your potato dishes, we have been and it is such a flavour bomb!

Tips for Making Pommes Anna

1 - You can wash the potatoes well but once they're sliced, do not wash them as we need the starches in the potato to bind the slices together to form a cake.

2 - I would really only recommend doing this if you have a mandolin because slicing 1kg or 2.2lbs of potatoes isn't anyone's idea of fun. This is the mandolin I have which is really easy and safe to use. Also I don't use the end pieces of the potato just because they're a bit misshapen.

3 - I have tried this using a few different types of potatoes and Desiree potatoes worked the best. They cut cleanly (Dutch creams didn't cut quite as cleanly). Always try to pick potatoes around the same size.

4 - I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic so that it distributes well in the butter.

5 - I used a 20cm/8inch cast iron pan. If your pan is larger than your Pommes Anna will be flatter and less cake-like (more pancake-like IYKWIM).

6 - The most important layer is the first layer for presentation. Once you have your first or even second layer laid out you don't have to place them so perfectly.

7 - Pommes Anna is best served after it has rested for around 20 minutes out of the oven.

We're getting into the home stretch at the moment and the tree is up and the scent of Christmas cookies is filling the air. Last year we didn't put up a tree because we were so depressed about the moth situation that we just didn't want to celebrate (and also we thought that it would just make them another place to hide out). This year the moths have truly packed up and left and our house smells like lemongrass (to make sure they stay out) and everything is much more celebratory.

"I've got a vision for this year's Christmas tree!" I said to Mr NQN while we were sitting in bed one night. "I saw it on TikTok, this year it's going to all be about ribbons!" I said palms outstretched up in the air as if I were some Hollywood director explaining my complicated vision. Mr NQN sort of just smiled and braced himself for Hurricane Lorraine. "I've got 60 metres/200feet of velvet ribbon and lots of icicle tinsel coming!" I said excitedly. I also had an enormous pink bow for the top of the tree.

We have a deal: he puts up the Christmas tree and I decorate it. Mr NQN can be a bit of a drama queen and he sighed deeply when dragging it out. It only took him 10 minutes to put it together but carries on a lot. I made all of the bows by hand using ribbon and waited for the tinsel to arrive. I have to be honest our tree without tinsel looks like it needs hair extensions as it is sparse even though it was supposed to be lush. That's what happens when you buy a tree on the internet during COVID. The tinsel arrived 2 days later and filled in the gaps and added food ornaments and special ornaments.

"What do you think?" I said turning on the lights.

"Not bad, not bad..." he said nodding approvingly. "It looks good," he added which is about his highest compliment.

So tell me Dear Reader, who puts the tree up at your place? And who decorates it? What is your favourite potato dish?

Pommes Anna

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 20 minutes resting time

Cooking time: 10+25+15 minutes

• 125g/4ozs salted butter
• 1kg/2.2lbs waxy starchy potatoes (Desirees work best)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Vinegar salt (not optional!)
• 1 small scoop sour cream, caviar and dill (optional)

Step 1 - First place the butter in a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until bubbling and it starts to smell nutty. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve - you'll end up with around 95g/3ozs of browned butter. Add garlic powder and set aside.

Step 2 - Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice them with a mandolin on setting #2 (not the thinnest) and place in a bowl. Preheat oven to 180C/350F fan forced and adjust the shelves so that the frying pan plus a heavy saucepan can fit. Heat the frying pan on medium heat and once hot add the oil and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.

Step 3 - Set the timer for 10 minutes. Place the first layer of potatoes down overlapping slightly. Use the best pieces for this as this will be the top that shows. Repeat but once you use a quarter of the potatoes drizzle some of the melted butter on top and season with salt. Repeat with the potatoes, butter and salt (don't use the last gritty bits of the clarified butter). Place a sheet of baking paper on top and then press down on top of this with a heavy pan or pot. Once the 10 minutes time is up, move the whole structure (saucepan with potatoes, baking paper and pot on top) to the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Step 4 - Carefully (with oven mitts obvs) remove the pot on top and the baking paper and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Place a serving plate on top and upturn the pan and the Pommes Anna should slide out easily. Sprinkle vinegar salt generously on top and then add a scoop of sour cream , caviar and dill.