Potato Galette

Chances are if you watch Food Network or any other cooking channel/show, you’ve probably seen a Potato Galette. I know I’ve definitely seen it on Ina’s show and I’ve seen a few contestants make them on Chopped, but I had never actually seen one in person. I haven’t even ever seen it on a menu, so I decided to take this issue up in my own kitchen.

What is a Potato Galette?

According to Wikipedia, “a Galette is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, similar in concept to a Chinese bing”.

Now, I know nothing about French cuisine and/or cooking techniques. But I do know that it you can call it by any fancy name you want, but it’s basically a layered potato cake. I know, if you are a chef or a “real” cook, you’re probably clicking away from the page right now, but seriously, that’s what it is. It’s the prettiest and yummiest potato cake I’ve ever eaten, but that’s what it is. (I think).

I actually thought it was going to be harder to pull off a Potato Galette, but it was rather easy. The most important thing, as I can figure, is making sure your potatoes are sliced super thin. If you have a mandolin, I suggest you use it. If you don’t have a mandolin, consider buying one, they’re fairly inexpensive and I bet you’ll find that you use it more often than you think you will. The one I have is right down the middle as far as price and I’ve had it for almost 9 years, using it weekly and it still works perfectly! The one I own is the OXO Good Grips Mandoline Slicer, and you can browse others on Amazon.

I have seen three different ways of cooking a Potato Galette. The first being to bake it. The second is to cook it on the stovetop in a skillet. The third method, which I chose is to brown it on the stovetop and then transfer into the oven to finish cooking.

Because I wasn’t 100% sure what I was doing when I started this recipe, I didn’t season with anything other than garlic, salt, pepper and butter, but typically rosemary and/or thyme would be a good choice.

I probably could have pulled this from the oven about 5 minutes sooner, but I like my potatoes super crispy crunchy, on the verge of being burnt so pull it 5 minutes early if you don’t like your potatoes as well done as I do.

So tell me, have you ever made a Potato Galette?

Ingredients

• 2 large russet potatoes, sliced thin (1/8-1/16th of an inch)
• 4 T butter, melted
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/8 t black pepper
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Place your minced garlic in the butter and mix together with a fork.
3. Coat the bottom of a 10" skillet with some of the melted butter mixture. Place 1 potato slice in the center and then make a spiral pattern, overlapping potatoes until bottom of pan is covered. Season with a little salt and pepper. Repeat entire process with remaining potatoes, being sure add butter to the top layer of potatoes.
4. Place skillet over medium/high heat for about 5 minutes, until butter is sizzling.
5. Transfer skillet to oven and cook until potatoes are nicely browned and beginning to pull away from the edge of the pan, about 20 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and invert galette onto a plate or platter.
7. Grate fresh parmesan cheese on top just before serving.

The post Potato Galette appeared first on Foody Schmoody Blog.