This Pommes Anna, or Anna Potatoes recipe is buttery, aromatic and oh-so-delicious! It's one of the prettiest, easiest ways to serve potatoes!
How pretty are these? And they're delicious!
This is the side dish I go to to when I want to be a little "fancy" without making something difficult that takes too much time.
Now picture, if you will, Braised Brisket Stew sitting next to it. Can you imagine how good the sauce from the brisket would be, seeping into the tiny crevices of these thinly sliced potatoes?
I know, right!?
What is Pommes Anna?
- Named after a mid-19th century Parisian beauty, Pommes Anna, or Anna Potatoes, is a classic French dish of thinly sliced, layered potatoes cooked in melted butter.
- The layered thin potato slices are shaped into cake-like formation and cooked until crispy.
- The starch in the potatoes holds the "cake" together. For this reason, the potato slices should not be rinsed or soaked in water.
- Although they're at their best immediately after they're cooked, a Pommes Anna recipe can be made ahead, and reheated in the oven just before serving.
My version of Pommes Anna requires a muffin tin, which makes the process fairly quick and easy.
Tips for making this Pommes Anna recipe:
The butter should be clarified. I use a simple method to do this. Simply melt the butter on a low heat. The milk solids will mostly rise to the top, and some will settle on the bottom. The milk solids at the top can easily be removed with a spoon. This is an important step because removing the milk solids allows the butter to have a higher burn point.
When you pour the clarified butter into another dish, be careful to leave the milk solids that have settled on the bottom in the pan.
The potatoes should be sliced as thinly as possible. If you can use a mandoline, that's the best way to do it. 
Mix evenly. The slices will want to stick together, so when you add them to the butter, use your hands to be sure each slice is well coated.
Line the muffin tin with parchment and grease it well. Doing this will ensure you can remove the potatoes in their cake form easily.
Fill the muffin tins about ½ to ⅔ the way up. You can make them as high as you'd like, but the taller they are, the trickier they might be to move.
Serving Pommes Anna
This pretty potato preparation can be lovely as a side dish or as part of your main course. You can make small, individual servings, as I did here, or a larger preparation that can then be sliced like a pie.
You can even crack an egg over Pommes Anna for brunch! However you decide to serve it, you'll greatly impress your guests!
If you try the Pommes Anna, or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook to keep up with my mouth-watering recipes!
Pommes Anna Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, clarified (see recipe instruction no. 2))
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, washed and dried, finely chopped
- 1½ pounds small potatoes (Baby Dutch Yellow are perfect), washed and dried
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a few turns of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Set the oven and clarify butter. Preheat the oven to 375°F and adjust a rack to the center.Clarify the butter: Add the butter to a small sauté pan and turn the heat to low. Melt the butter completely. Use a spoon to remove the milk solids from the top surface. Then, very slowly, pour the butter into a large mixing bowl, leaving any milk solids that have settled to the bottom, in the pan.
- Prepare the muffin pan. Use a pastry brush and a small amount of the melted butter to grease 8 cups in a muffin pan. Then line them with parchment paper rounds. (You can get the size right by outlining the bottom of the cups from the muffin tin on the parchment.) Add the thyme and salt to the clarified butter and mix. Set aside.
- Slice potatoes. Preferably using a mandoline, slice the potatoes as thinly as possible, but not paper thin! Add all of the slices to the bowl with the butter, and use your hands to be sure the slices separate and all become well coated.
- Assemble in pan. Divide potato slices evenly among the prepared muffin cups, layering them in a circular pattern. Lightly press the top of each one to make sure the potatoes are packed. Drizzle any remaining butter-thyme mixture over them.
- Bake. Cover the muffin tin lightly with foil and place in the preheated 375°F oven for 20 minutes. The potatoes should now be tender. Remove the muffin tin from the oven, turn it up to 425°F, and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Very gently, use a small off-set metal spatula to remove each potato cake from the muffin pan, and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Be sure to take each parchment round off the bottoms as you go. Place them back in the now 425°F oven until the edges of the potatoes are golden, about 10 minutes.
- Serve ASAP!
Notes
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Quyen - Kitchen Runway
Such an elegant dish with only 4 ingredients! Awesome! 🙂 I love potatoes - in every shape & form!
Terris - Free Eats
These really are beautiful. I love straightforward preparations that allow ingredients to shine. Lovely blog, I can't wait to browse some more. 🙂
valentina
thank you so much! enjoy!
Christine
Hi Valentina, Your Pommes Anna recipe has been selected to be featured in a Recipe Guessing Game.
valentina
Fun, Christine! Thanks! 😀
Kaye Kittrell
Wonderful! I'm trying this!! - Kaye
http://www.youtube.com/user/kittrellkaye
nancy
One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE potato dishes!! I absolutely love the idea of making them in a muffin tin - absolutely brilliant!!
valentina
Thanks, Nancy! I've made them without, and this was really simplifies the whole process. 🙂
Sharon
This is such a lovely side dish to any main meal. Would go great for a romatic Valentine's day dish too.
valentina
I love that idea Sharon! 🙂
Noelle
Love this dish!! Thank you.
valentina
Thank YOU!
Amanda
This looks like the perfect side dish! You can't go wrong with potatoes and butter. Thanks for sharing!
valentina
I completely agree about butter + potatoes. 🙂 Thx!
Taylor Kiser
Such an easy and delicious side dish! Definitely would need seconds on this!
valentina
Me too! 🙂 Thanks!
Jori
You had me at potatoes and butter. I'm making beef stew for dinner tomorrow; these will go with that perfectly!
Ron
A wonderfully tasty classic dish and you just showed us an easy way to make them. I love your parchment paper tip as they will stick. Paired with your Braised Brisket Stew would be wonderful. I must confess, I love them the next morning reheated with poached eggs.
valentina
I love the idea of having them with poached eggs. Perfect! Thanks for coming by, Ron! 🙂
David
I’ve always heard of Pommes Anna but have neither made nor had them served to me. They are so elegant for a dish made so simple by you! Genius.
valentina
You are very kind. Thank you David and enjoy! 🙂
David @ Spiced
Wow, you're right that Pommes Anna are pretty! What a fun way to serve potatoes. I wasn't familiar with this style, but it's on my radar now for sure. I love potatoes when they've got that combination of soft and crispy going on. Great recipe, my friend!
valentina
I think you just nailed exactly what I love about potatoes! They can be soft and crispy all at once Thanks!:-)
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Oh, wow! These are really pretty! What a lovely side dish for entertaining too - the presentation is so special. With all the winter comfort foods I've been enjoying lately, these would be some welcomed to serve alongside 🙂 Pinned! Hope you have a wonderful week, Valentina!
valentina
I hope you have a wonderful week too, Dawn. And many thanks for the Pommes Anna compliments! 🙂
Cookilicious
It is always interesting to know about world cuisine. Thanks for sharing this post with us. Enlightening read!
valentina
Thanks so much for checking it out! 🙂
Deb|EastofEdenCooking
Melt in your mouth goodness! A plus is finding another use for the muffin/cupcake pan in my cupboard.....
valentina
Thanks, Deb! I'm learning that muffins/cupcakes are just one of my things that can be made in a muffin tin. 🙂
John / Kitchen Riffs
I haven't made this dish in years! And don't see it all that often on restaurant menus. Too bad, because it looks terrific, and tastes better. I clarify my butter the same way you do -- easiest method going. Anyway, fun post -- thanks.
valentina
Thanks so much, John. I don't really see it on menus either, come to think of it. Well, we'll just keep making it at home. 🙂
James
I have never made this, but want to right now! I'm debating between the brisket or egg on top. I think both is the answer!
valentina
oooh, I like that. Both is best. Thanks for stopping by, James. 🙂
mimi rippee
Fabulous! This is the way I've always made them, probably because my mother is French. But I love how you did the individual stacks!
valentina
Thanks so much Mimi! Love that your mom made this. 🙂
Kelly | Foodtasia
These look SO GOOD! I must have stopped breathing when you described the sauce from the brisket seeping into the crevices!
valentina
Ha! I love that -- but keep breathing! 😉 Hope you try it, and thanks for visiting. ~Valentina
2pots2cook
Beautiful and simple. That is exactly my cup of tea ! Thank you so much !
valentina
Thanks! Yes, beautiful and simple is a good combo. 🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal)
Love the little individual stacks, it makes for a terrific presentation. I can't wait to serve these at my next dinner party. I've pinned, thank you!
valentina
Thanks so much for pinning, Karen. And of course for the visit. Hope you love it! 🙂
Jeff the Chef
I love potatoes, and who doesn't love butter? I've love a nice poached egg on top!
valentina
That sounds perfect, Jeff. Love it.
Gerlinde de Broekert
What a great presentation , perfect for a dinner party.
valentina
Thanks so much. Enjoy!
Mike Forrester
Very good recipe. Little potato stacks perfectly done, flavored with thyme, and nicely golden.
valentina
Thanks so much, Mike! So happy you liked the recipe -- it's one of my favorites. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eha
Before the ebbs and flows of life led to Asian and African and island meals five days out of seven and potatoes but rarely in the house, Pommes Anna was quite often made when friends came to call . . . oft with ghee if I remember . . . ? Tho' I rarely use butter these days . . . once friends can freely come for long weekends again I;ll remember to spoil them . . . lovely . . .
valentina
Thank you! Butter and potatoes are do the trick for spoiling friends. 🙂 ~Valentina