Sunday Brunch: Cheese and Bacon Potato Cake
Cheese. Bacon. Potato. Three of the most beautiful words in the English language, all put to very good use by Patricia Wells in this recipe for a cheese and bacon potato cake adapted from her fantastic book Simply French: Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joel Robuchon. Wells calls for clarified butter, but regular butter will do just fine. Softly scrambled eggs are the perfect accompaniment for this wonderful creation.
Cheese and Bacon Potato Cake
- serves 6 to 8 -
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
20 slices of thinly sliced bacon, cut in half
2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes
1 1/4 cups freshly grated imported Gruyere cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Butter the bottom and sides of the pan. Arrange the bacon slices, spiral fashion, on the bottom and sides of the pan. Allow the bacon to drape over the edge. Set aside.
3. Peel the potatoes, rinse under cold running water, and pat dry. Slice into thin rounds using a mandolin or food processor, rinse again, and dry thoroughly in a thick towel.
4. Arrange one third of the potato slices on top of the bacon, and sprinkle with one third of the cheese. Repeat, creating two additional layers of potatoes and cheese. Fold the overhanging bacon onto the potatoes.
5. Bake, uncovered, until the potatoes offer no resistance when pierced with a knife, 40 to 50 minutes.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer it to a rack. Let it rest, still covered, for 15 minutes, so that the potatoes will unmold easily. Unmold the potatoes onto a warmed serving platter, season generously with freshly ground black pepper, and serve, cutting into wedges.
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12 Comments:
This sounds like it would be fun to try--um--what kind of pan do I use?
beano at 10:27AM on 12/28/08
sure, ed, you're on this big diet -- and then you give us this recipe!!!!
holy spare tire!!! sounds like i'm gonna have to try it before i start my big diet on jan. 2nd....
pooch at 11:00AM on 12/28/08
Uhhhh...what kind of pan?
bessfour at 11:11AM on 12/28/08
I'm guessing an 8'x8' or 9'x9' pan. Does anyone know for certain?
Boscompb at 11:54AM on 12/28/08
My grandmother's pork loin slow cooked with french onion soup was something to die for.
Rebel at 11:56AM on 12/28/08
Actually, given all of that bacon, a larger pan now seems to be in order. Hello Ed? Any help here?
Boscompb at 11:57AM on 12/28/08
My guess is we're talking about a big cast iron skillet, since the bacon is wrapped spirally. Ed?
Rhetor at 12:03PM on 12/28/08
I had all ingredients on hand; it's in the oven now. I reduced the recipe to serve 2 and used a tiny Le Creuset baking dish I have (5x5, maybe?). I think to serve 6 or 8, I'd use the 8x8 or 9x9.
IndyGal at 12:18PM on 12/28/08
UPDATE: I made it; I ate it. It's not joining my list of "keepers." Just one of those things when the parts are better than the total of what they made -- IMHO.
IndyGal at 1:33PM on 12/28/08
Hey, everybody. The 8 x 8 is optimal, the 9 x 9 would work as well.
Ed Levine at 4:15PM on 12/28/08
I'm guessing that the bacon is meant to be added to the pan in "spoke" fashion. Otherwise, it's not going to overhang much of anything.
rjm1604 at 1:44PM on 12/29/08
This recipe seemed good, and tastes good, but the directions have a few flaws that make this whole thing more difficult. First of all, as most people have already said, the pan size and type are both not specified. The arrangement of the bacon is a little confusing, because spiral fashion can mean a few things. I think a more specific term or a visual aid would have been good for this, and also a picture of the finished product because I'm not sure what this thing is supposed to look like. The last issue I have with confusing directions would be step 5 and 6. "Bake Uncovered" is the first direction in step 5. Then in step 6 without saying to cover at any point it says "Let it rest, still covered" as if it WAS supposed to be covered in the oven. I'm not sure if it means to cover it once you take it out of the oven, if it was meant to say 'leave uncovered' or if it was supposed to say covered in the oven.
This recipe has good potential, but it needs a few fixer uppers. Badly.
Auldan at 11:14PM on 01/19/09