Pomme Boulangère
Pomme boulangère is a rustic French side dish of thinly sliced potatoes, onions and stock, slowly cooked in the oven. The dish originated with the French baker, where dishes were once prepared in the residual heat of the oven. Simple, nourishing and full of flavour.
Serves: 4
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 kg waxy potatoes
- 2 large onions
- 400 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 50 grams butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat).
- Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly.
- Peel the onions and slice them into thin half rings.
- Peel the garlic and finely chop it.
Method
- Heat the olive oil with a small knob of butter in a frying pan. Fry the onions and garlic for 5–10 minutes over medium-high heat until soft and lightly caramelised. Add the thyme, bay, salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Grease an oven dish with butter. Layer potato slices on the bottom, followed by a layer of onions. Repeat and finish with a layer of potatoes.
- Pour the warm stock over the dish so the potatoes are mostly submerged.
- Dot the remaining butter over the top in small pieces.
- Bake the pommes boulangère for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the middle of the oven until the potatoes are cooked through and the top is golden brown. If the top gets too dark, loosely cover the dish with aluminium foil after 45 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Serve as a side dish with leg of lamb, roast chicken or a vegetable stew. Also delicious as a vegetarian dish with a fresh green salad and some finely chopped parsley.
