Potato Pavé

New food recipe. I'd seen some IG Reels where someone said Potato Pavé was one of their family's favorite comfort foods. It sounded and looked pretty amazing...I mean, who doesn't love potatoes? 

Most recipes call for using heavy cream but I didn't have any and didn't feel like running to the grocery store, so I used half and half. Some recipes also incorporated in buttermilk in place of some of the cream, so there's room to experiment. Some recipes called for different herbs, but I have a pot of rosemary in the back yard, so that's why I went with it.

A couple other notes, a lot of the recipes also tell you to trim your potatoes into rectangular shapes. This helps ensure your slices are more uniform which makes things easier when you get to the layering step. I trimmed my first few but towards the end I was mostly just peeling them. It actually worked out well as I needed some different widths and lengths to fill in my loaf pan.  

One last note, this recipe isn't hard but it takes some time to make. Plan ahead, or like in my case, make it day 1 and serve it day 2.

Here's the recipe as I made it today.

Ingredients

1.25 to 1.5c Half and half, or heavy cream, or a blend of the two. Optionality, substitute some buttermilk for part of the cream. 

2T Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2t Garlic, minced

1t Kosher salt, heaping 

3-4 lbs Russet potatoes (preferably large with similar size and shape)

1/4c Butter, melted

Black pepper

Olive oil

Directions

1. Combine cream, rosemary, garlic, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Prepare potatoes by washing, peeling, and trimming to uniform lengths. 
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Using a mandolin slicer, slice over the bowl containing the cream mixture. Remember to occasionally stir them to make sure each side is coated with the cream mixture.
5. Once all potatoes are sliced, line a loaf pan with parchment paper and begin layering the thin potato slices. Do your best to keep the layers as uniform as possible.
6. Every 3-4 layers, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the layer, then add a pinch of salt and black pepper. 
7. Repeat step 6 until you've used all potatoes.
8. Fold parchment paper to cover the last layer, or trim it to be level with the top of the loaf pan. 
9. Cover the loaf pan tightly with aluminum foil, then bake at 350F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. 
10. After 1:20, remove from oven and use a skewer, fork, or knife to check to make sure the potatoes are fully cooked in the middle of the pan. If they're not, put them back in the oven for 10 minutes then check again. 
11. Once fully cooked, you're going to press the loaf and allow it to cool to room temp. The easiest way is to use a second loaf pan filled with weights (e.g. cans of vegetable) to gradually press down on the layers as it cools.  Remember to place a later of parchment between the potatoes and the second loaf pan. I also lined the second loaf pan with a kitchen towel to insulate the canned vegetables from the potatoes. Allow it to cool to room temp (a small fan blowing on the pan will help).
12. Transfer the whole setup (second loaf pan plus weights) to the fridge and chill for several hours or overnight. 
13. After chilled, remove the potato loaf from the pan using a spatula to loosen it along the edges.  
14. Discard the parchment and slice the loaf into 1" thick slices.  You can also slice these in half for smaller serving sizes. This will yield blocks about 1" wide x 1.5" long x 2" deep (or however deep you layered them).
15. Heat a pan over medium-high heat with a thin layer of olive oil. 
16. Place the potato blocks in pan (it should immediately sizzle) and cook bottoms until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. 
17. Carefully turn and cook all sides until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side.
18. Serve and enjoy.