POMMES ANNA. A VARIATION

Inspired by a dish I saw at Amanda Hesser’s Food52 and all the snow outside I decided to try my hand at Pommes Anna, which seems to me to be a penultimate comfort food. The specific dish was Sweet Potatoes Anna but I had something less pruney and more oniony in mind.

I sliced up two medium sweet potatoes and one yukon to an eighth of an inch thick using my most precious and no longer feared mandolin. Next I took just the white stem of a big fat leek and gave it the same treatment. It seems to me the secret to this dish is butter butter and then more butter ( or olive oil, I have heard) followed by two, half hour stints in a hot oven. Into a stainless steel skillet I layered the potatoes alternating with leeks and sauced each layer in melted butter ( I used about 6 oz all together) saving the biggest roundest slices for the top. I then covered it in foil and place my cast iron skillet on top to flatten the layers. Into the oven this contraption went for a half hour at almost 400 degrees.
Then I removed the skillet and foil and continued to bake it uncovered for another half hour hoping to get a nice crisp and caramelized top and edge.
It almost worked, but was no where near the dark and crispy results of the dish I have seen. Maybe a pass under the broiler would help? Even though it was not perfect it was so tasty and with a simple salad a rich and buttery winter’s night dinner.