Rosemary Potatoes Anna

MyRecipes.com puts together menu ideas and one I had stumbled across was At The Homegrown Table. This recipe along with the Skillet-Roasted Edamame was on that menu. Being that my pickiest eater in the house, Mr. Sideline Chef, doesn't care for a lot of veggies most of the menu was discarded.

We all know how he felt about the tasteless edamame but the Rosemary Potatoes Anna were well received after a slice of crap-processed-stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-cheese and pickled jalapenos were added as toppings. He did all of this before even trying a bite of it as is. Ugh! Mr. Sideline Chef! I swear I could strangle the man sometimes. This was a dish for him. Nothing but potatoes lightly seasoned. For me, I could care less if this one ever makes an appearance on our dinner table again. It wasn't worth the two inch burn from the pan handle on my forearm. 

"Potatoes Anna" is a classic French dish of sliced and layered potatoes cooked in large amounts of butter. This version was heart healthier with the substitution of olive oil. This potato "cake" was a disappointment on my scorecard. It had a crunchy bottom layer, or top, since it gets inverted onto a platter. At least I got a brand new green platter out of the deal from Bed Bath & Beyond since I didn't own one yet. The potatoes under or above were cooked just until tender and the amount of seasonings used didn't add any flavor whatsoever!

When it came time to inverting the potatoes from the hot out of the oven skillet to the platter this is where things got tricky. Mr. Sideline Chef was still at work and me standing just a hair under 5' tall made this task very difficult. The pan was heavy. I had my trusty Ove-Glove on and attempted to hold the platter over the skillet at the same time and tried to just flip it. Not happenin'. Screw it. I just took the pan and flipped it quickly over the platter. The potatoes folded in half and I just tried my best to reshape it. I did get burned from the pan's handle in the process of flipping after doing my best to pay attention not to do so. Obviously not well enough.

I can't really say too much effort was put into making this dish since the mandolin slicer does most of the work and the oven but the prep and wait time was not worth the end results. That is unless you take the Mr. Sideline Chef approach and use a cheese slice and add some heat from pickled jalapeno slices. If he wants this again he can make it.

Rosemary Potatoes Anna

MyRecipes.com and Sunset's August 2008 issue

Makes 8 servings

Stars of the Show:

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided

And Action:

Preheat oven to 375°. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/8" slices. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a 10 inch ovenproof nonstick skillet frying over medium-high heat. Arrange about one-fifth of the potatoes in a circular pattern in the pan. The potatoes should sizzle when you lay them down. If they don't, wait for the pan to get hot enough. Mix the salt and rosemary in a bowl. Sprinkle potatoes with about one-fifth of the rosemary salt. When the potatoes begin to brown around the edges, reduce the heat to low. Repeat the layers. Brush the final layer with the remaining olive oil and salt.

With a heatproof spatula, gently pull back potatoes to see if the bottom layer is starting to brown. If it is, transfer pan to the oven and bake until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 45 minutes. If potatoes start to look dry or curl up cover with foil. (My potatoes started to curl up after 15 minutes in the oven.)

Run the spatula between the potatoes and the sides of the pan and invert onto a platter. Cut into 8 wedges and serve hot or warm.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 141 (11% from fat)
Protein: 3.6g
Fat: 1.7g (sat 0.2)
Carbohydrate: 27g
Fiber: 1.8g
Sodium: 154mg
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg