By Chef David “Smitty” ·
Last week, when I mentioned I was writing a potato recipe because in all the years I’ve been writing this article, I had only previously written three. I chose potatoes O’Brian because they are so easy to make and are great for all three meals.
This recipe is a little more work, but is a great cheesy potato that you can freeze what you don’t use for later. It also gives a decidedly different presentation than the average potato on your plate, which can be a real hit at parties.
To prepare the dish, you can use a cake pan, heavy skillet or a spring-form pan. Also, use a waxy or low-starch potato like my personal favorites, red potatoes, or fingerlings are good. Yukon potatoes are a slightly starchier spud but can be used if that’s all you have available, but stay away from the russets or high-starch potatoes.
Seasoning pasta, sauce
I want to answer a question I received about seasoning pasta and pasta sauce. The question was: Do you season the sauce a little less than you like to accommodate the salt used in cooking off the pasta? The problem arose when the sauce was seasoned to perfect taste, but after adding the pasta the dish was too salty, but when the pasta water was not salted, the pasta was decidedly bland. I always season the sauce to taste because I don’t want a sauce that is lacking in flavor.
Pasta alone can be a little lacking in the flavor department since many types of pasta have no salt in them. So, what often happens is the water will get salted and then turned up to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, other meal prep is being done and often the water ends up boiling down a little without you even noticing it. This will cause the water to get more saturated with salt causing the problem. Also, after adding the pasta to the boiling water, once the water comes back to a boil, turn it down to a slight boil to finish the cooking. I hope this helps.
Voisin Potatoes
8 red potatoes, thinly sliced, rinsed & dried (about 1/8-inch thick); a mandolin works great for slicing
1 stick butter, melted
1 C grated greyer cheese (substitute your favorite cheese)
¼ C grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley to garnish
Note: Exact amounts are difficult for this recipe because of the varying sizes of the potatoes, pans and the number of layers you want to make, so use this as a starting guide and you will see as you go that it’s a lot easier than can be explained.
Grease your pan with butter and use a piece of parchment paper on the bottom if you have some. Put in a layer of overlapping potatoes, drizzle with a small amount of butter over them, season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle with a layer of greyer. Repeat, layering in the opposite direction each layer, for three to five layers or you can go higher, especially if using a spring-form pan.
During the cooking process, you will want to press down on the potatoes a few times or you can simply place a piece of parchment paper over the top and then place a weighted, oven-safe plate on that.
Cook in a 400-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until a thin knife slides through the cooked potatoes. Let slightly cool before running a knife around the edges and flipping upside down onto a platter. Sprinkle with the parmesan and brown under the broiler if desired. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, cut into wedges and serve.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Stir it Up, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at smitty@chefsmitty.com or (530) 412-3598.
