Let’s Make a Potato Pavé! I’m always looking for something different that sets my taste buds going. I have been seeing what looked to me to be a block of potatoes which caught my eye. Looking further into what the heck this dish was all about, I found out that Potato Pavé has French origins and that “Pave” is a French word that means “paving stone”. When cooking it refers to a dish made by layering ingredients. The Pavé is similar to scalloped potatoes which is another layered dish. The potato pavé’s layers are compressed to develop a block of thinly sliced potato with butter and cream. Scalloped potatoes is a layered potato dish with butter and cream that is baked in the oven resulting in more of a casserole-type dish.
The Basics
Since the end result is to end up with a tightly compressed block of tender and tasty potatoes, this is not a quick dish. The dish needs to sit overnight.
You can see from the pictures above we first layer in some parchment paper that overhangs the pan. Then we add the sliced potatoes that have been sitting in seasoned cream. Drizzle in some melted butter and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on each layer. After the pan was full we folded the overhanging parchment paper so that the potatoes were all enclosed. We made a cover for the potatoes with a piece of cardboard and foil. Placed a similar pan on top of our potatoes and added the heaviest cans I had in the pantry to weigh it down. Placed the pan in the fridge (cans and all)!
The next day we easily pull the potatoes out of the pan by opening up the parchment paper; placing a cutting board on the top of the pan; and flipping it over. The potatoes easily drop out of the pan.
Is the Dish too Complex?
The answer is no! I enjoyed making the dish. The results are fantastic! Is it time-consuming? The answer is yes! But….the majority of the time is spent overnight while you sleep. The seasoned block of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside potato is well worth the time. It’s an impressive side dish to accompany the fish or steak dish you are preparing for your guests!
Some Additional Thoughts
If you want a little more height to your potato block; use a loaf pan. I used a 9″ x 13″ pan and got about 10 layers. A loaf pan should get you double the height. Slicing the potatoes manually is too long a process. Get yourself a mandoline slicer.
Let me know if you have a chance to try the recipe and leave your comments in the space below. As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!
Potato Pavé
12
servings1
hour30
minutes8
minutes10
HoursIngredients
- Cream Sauce Ingredients
1 Cup 1 Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup 1/2 Sour Cream
2 Tbl 2 Rosemary, finely minced
1 Tbl 1 Thyme, finely minced
2 tsp 2 Garlic, finely minced
1 tsp 1 Salt
1 tsp 1 Pepper
- Remaining Ingredients
3 Lbs 3 Russet Potatoes
Parmesan, sprinkle on for each layer
4 Tbl 4 Unsalted butter, melted
- Garnish Ingredients
1/4 Cup 1/4 Chives, small chop
Finishing/Flake salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Add to a big bowl all the Cream Sauce Ingredients as stated above. Whisk and set aside.
- Line your 9 x 13 Pan or Loaf Pan with Parchment Paper Lengthwise and Widthwise. Make sure the paper hangs over so that when you have finished adding your potatoes, the excess paper can be folded to cover the potatoes
- Trim your potatoes so that they are fairly flat on each side. You certainly don’t have to be perfect in your cutting. I cut very little off each side. I didn’t want to waste too much of my potato. If you are looking for perfection, make a perfect rectangle of your cut potato.
- Use a mandoline to thinly slice your potatoes. Definitely use the hand protector that comes with your mandoline. Mandolines are known to be extremely sharp and many people have lost fingertips not paying attention. (You are warned!)
- Take your sliced potatoes and add them to your bowl of Cream Ingredients. Do this so that your potatoes do not brown/oxidize on you while they are sitting out on the counter.
- After your potatoes are all sliced and coated with the cream sauce ingredients, it’s time to layer your potatoes in your pan.
- Layer your potatoes evenly in the pan. After each layer, sprinkle a little bit of parmesan cheese, and drizzle a little bit of melted butter.
- When the pan is filled, fold over the parchment paper.
- Place the pan with the potatoes in the 350° oven for approximately 1 1/2 hours until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Let the potatoes cool for about 15 minutes.
- To Make the compressing process more successful, cut out a piece of cardboard that happens to be lying around the house. (Save a box the next time you go to one of those Large Box Stores buying supplies.) Fold some foil around the cutout and place it over pan with the potatoes.
- If you happen to have a second pan just like the pan with potatoes, place that pan on top of the potatoes. Now add the heaviest cans you have to weigh down the potatoes to compress them tightly.
- Place the pans; cans and all, in the fridge to sit overnight.
- Time to Serve
- Take your pan of potatoes out of the fridge. Peel/Cut off the parchment paper that is covering the potatoes.
- Place a large cutting board on top of the pan. Invert the pan upside down so that the potatoes are now on the board. Peel off the remaining parchment paper.
- Slice across the potatoes every 2″ down which will result in 6 slices of potatoes. Slice those potatoes in half, now resulting in 12 servings.
- Set the heat on your stove to medium. Preheat your cast iron or Carbon Steel pan. Drizzle some oil into your pan. Wait a few minutes, then add however many slices will fit in your pan without touching each other.
- Cook each side until they are brown and crispy. Place them on a baking sheet to stay warm in the oven while you cook all your potato blocks.
- Before serving add a pinch of finishing salt and chopped chives to each serving
- Enjoy!
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