Our friend Marissa will be jetting off to Jakarta soon for a new job, so Elina had us over for potluck dinner and card games last Sunday. Danial made roast chicken and Elina made rotkohl, so I decided to bring some form of starch as a complementing side dish. It was either the baked potato casserole or this interesting potato dish by Emeril, and finally our host chose this one.
People say potatoes a la boulangere make a great side dish for roast chicken. Making it wasn’t difficult, but rather time consuming. A sharp, heavy knife worked wonders for me when slicing the onions and potatoes into even-sized pieces. I also took my time to properly caramelize the onions and potatoes, and I think this gave the dish a wonderful flavor. An excellent dish for potlucks, which you can make ahead on those busy days. Try it out!
Potatoes a la Boulangere
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large onions, thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2.25 kilograms red bliss potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 chicken stock cube, diluted in 1 1/2 cups hot water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (fan 180 degrees C).
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until caramelized, about 30 minutes.
Season the onions with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set the onions aside to cool.
Using the same skillet, melt another 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat, and cook about one-fourth of the potatoes until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes.
Season the potatoes with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Set the potatoes aside to cool. Repeat this process with the remaining butter, potatoes, salt, and pepper.
Arrange one-fourth of the cooled potatoes in a slightly overlapping single layer in a 9 x 13-inch casserole, or 14-inch oval casserole.
Tuck the bay leaf on one side of the potatoes.
Scatter a third of the caramelized onions over the potatoes.
Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon thyme.
Place another fourth of the potatoes on top of the onions, another third of the onions, and another teaspoon thyme.
Repeat this process with half of the remaining potatoes and the remaining onions and thyme, finishing with a layer of potatoes.
Pour the chicken stock mixture over the potatoes, and place the casserole in the oven.
Bake the casserole for 25 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C (fan 160 degrees C), and continue to bake until the potatoes are golden brown, about 30 minutes more.
Remove the casserole from the oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
