Potato Pavé

Courtesy of Culinary Institute of Canada

Serves 8 as a side

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup shallots, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 400 ml ricotta cheese
• 250 ml whipping cream, divided
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and held in water
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 12 x 8 casserole dish by greasing with butter.

In a sauté pan on medium heat, gently sauté shallots in olive oil until softened but not browned. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Add garlic, thyme, and wine then simmer until wine is almost evaporated.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese and 125 ml whipping cream then fold in shallot mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside

Assembly

Using a vegetable slicer, slice one potato at a time to a 1/8 inch thickness. In buttered casserole dish, arrange slices by overlapping ¼ inch (scalloped of fish scale pattern) until all potato slices are used. Slice another potato and continue to layer, stopping at three layers of potato. (Note: if potato slices are thicker, two layers are fine).

(Note: Slicing potatoes one at time avoids oxidization which could turn the potatoes black, even in short period of time)

Spoon 1/4 of the ricotta mixture over the potato slices. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 of reserved whipping cream (about 30 ml).

Continue assembling ingredients in the same order (three layers of potato, one layer of ricotta and cream) three more times, finishing with a layer of ricotta on top. (12 layers of potato slices total)

Cover with parchment paper and aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

Remove cover and test doneness by inserting a paring knife. The knife should easily pass through the layers without much resistance.

Turn oven up to 400 F. Return to the oven uncovered and bake for another 15 minutes or until top layer is lightly browned.

Remove from oven and let cool for 15 min. Cut into eight pieces and serve.