Potato Stacks
Servings: 6 people (assuming 2 each)
Equipment
- 12-hole muffin tray (12 x 125ml (12x 125ml capacity)
- mandolin
- (useful, not essential) large salad spinner
Ingredients
- a little oil or butter
- 1.5 kg Sebago potatoes or other starchy potatoes (note)
- 45 g pecorino or 60g parmesan
- 4 teaspoons dried oregano
- teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 120 ml olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat Oven - to 220°C
- Prepare Muffin Tray – generously grease the muffin tray holes with oil or butter. Oil sprays are handy for this purpose. Be sure to get right into the groove where the sides meet the basea little oil or butter
- Prep Potatoes - scrub the potatoes well. Leaving the potatoes unpeeled, use a mandolin to slice into the thinnest rounds (about 1mm). Transfer the slices to a large bowl of water to rinse off some of the starch. Change the water a few times until the water runs quite clear. Drain and use a salad spinner to gently spin the slices dry. You might need to do this is a couple of batches1.5 kg Sebago potatoes
- Prep Flavouring – finely grate the cheese. Add this to the potatoes along with the oregano, salt, pepper and oil. Combine everything thoroughly but gently, using a flexible spatula45 g pecorino4 teaspoons dried oreganoteaspoon saltfreshly ground black pepper120 ml olive oil
- Fill Muffin Tray – pile up the potato slices and divide between the holes of the muffin tray. It will seem like way too many potatoes (like double what you need), but go ahead and pile them high. They shrinks a lot as they cook
- Cover & Bake - cover with a layer of parchment paper. Lay a baking sheet or cooking rack over the top and press down evenly to compact the potatoes. Check under the paper and readjust the stacks if they've moved out of position. Then cover with a tight layer of foil. Cook for 50 minutes
- Uncover & Bake - remove the coverings and cook for another 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Check that potatoes are tender by inserting a skewer. It should pass right through from top to bottom without any resistance. If they’re browning too fast, re-cover with the foil
- Serve Promptly - run a spoon around the outside of each to loosen (so as not to scratch your muffin tray) . You can serve them straight from the muffin pan to keep them warm or arrange on a platter if you're feeling fancy 😉
Notes
Try to get evenly sized potatoes. Ideally, they will be narrow enough fit in the muffin tray holes on their ends without needing to trim
Make ahead
You could definitely cut, soak and dry the potato slices up to 3 days in advance. The potatoes may turn a bit brown as they’re exposed to the air. This won’t affect the flavour (and they're going to brown in the oven anyway). Hold off adding the rest of the ingredients until ready to assemble. The potatoes will get watery and not crisp up so well if you add salt too far in advance. You can fully cook the stacks and reheat in a 180°C oven. This will take around 20 minutes (keep them covered in foil for all but the last five minutes). Great for a dinner party!