Potato Pavé with Whipped Truffle Ricotta
A crispy layered potato topped with whipped truffle ricotta… dreamy right?
You might mistakingly think these are called TL;DM, Potatoes : Too Long; Didn’t Make, Potatoes
—because, I hate to spoil the recipe but— these take 15 hours.
Although, if you are anything like me, as soon as you step foot in a kitchen the concept of time simply does not exist. I could be in there on my feet, entranced in my cooking for 6 hours straight and I wouldn’t bat an eye.
Now I didn’t mean to alarm you! You will NOT be standing around for 6 hours making these. MOST of the time spent is waiting around while these chill out in the fridge for 10+ hours.
Thank god right? Yeah, I almost lost you there.
This layered potato is stunning and these were made popular by Chef Thomas Keller— though his involve cream and butter, mine use a simple (but luxurious) Duck Fat to help adhere everything together.
The potatoes are thinly sliced, coated in fat, layered somewhat strategically in a pan and baked at 300 for 3 hours. The baked terrine is then weighted down to compress the layers together before chilling in the fridge for 10 hours (or overnight). That way, when we cut them into wedges to fry: all the layers stay intact. Relatively simple!
But not as simple as this creamy dreamy Whipped Truffle Ricotta. The texture is quite stunning. The secret to a velvety smooth whipped ricotta texture is adding a spoonful of plain yogurt. Extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and a splash of truffle oil for a luxurious taste.
Let’s make it.
Recipe:
Makes 8 pieces
Special Equipment:
9x4” baking pan
mandolin
parchment paper
food processor
vegetable peeler
piping bag
Duck Fat Potato Pavé:
2 Russet Potatoes
3 tbsp duck fat
3 cloves garlic
splash lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2L oil for frying (or duck fat)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a small saucepan, add your duck fat and garlic. Place over low heat. Melt the fat and allow the garlic to infuse slightly. About 5-8 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
Wash and scrub your potatoes to get rid of any excess dirt. Peel the potatoes and discard the scraps.
Using a mandolin set to a 1-2mm width, slice your potatoes into thin strips. Place the slices in a collander and rinse them under cold water. This will prevent the potatoes from browning or discoloring.
Transfer the potatoes to a bowl, add the duck fat (discard the garlic cloves), salt and lemon juice. Stir to coat the potatoes in the fat.
Using a 9x4” baking pan or loaf tin, add a layer of parchment paper that fits into the tin and hugs the sides. You might need to do some origami.
Lay out the slices of potato in a way where they all overlap each other slightly. It does not need to be perfect, just even.
Once all the potato slices are laid out, place another piece of parchment paper on top, folded to a 9x4” rectangle, to cover the surface of the potatoes. Cover the top of the tin with aluminum foil and bake in your preheated oven for 3 hours.
Once baked, remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly.
Place a towel on top of the aluminum foil, and press it down. Wrap with plastic wrap. Take some of your heaviest objects (I chose cans, but you can use small weights, parchment paper filled with pie weights or rice) and place them on top of the towel. This will help fuse the layers together as the terrine cools.
Place the pan in the fridge and chill for 10 hours or overnight.
Once the potato has been chilled, remove the weights, plastic wrap, the towel, aluminum and parchment from on top.
Carefully using the parchment overhang, pull the potato pavé out of the pan and place on a cutting board.
Using a sharp knife, trim the four sides, and cut the slab into 8 rectangles (roughly 1x4”). Place the rectangles on a baking sheet.
In a stainless steel pan or heavy bottomed pot add your oil. Preheat to 325 degrees.
To achieve this beautiful golden brown we will be frying two times: Once the oil is hot, add 2-3 of your potato rectangles at a time. Flipping and frying on all sides until they begin to develop colour. About 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oil and set aside to cool slightly. Repeat until all have been fried x1.
Bring the temperature of the oil up to 350 degrees. Add the once fried potatoes back in for a second round of frying. This time to give them a final seal of colour and crispness.
Once beautifully golden brown, remove from the oil. Sprinkle with salt while still hot. Let them cool.
Whipped Truffle Ricotta
150g ricotta
50g plain yogurt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp white truffle oil
In a food processor add all of the above ingredients. Whip until smooth in consistency. About 1-2 minutes. Taste to see if the saltiness and truffle aroma is to your liking, and adjust to taste. Note: the truffle oil can of course be omitted!
Store in the fridge when not being used. Re-whip before serving.
To Serve:
Duck Fat Potato Pavés
Whipped Truffle Ricotta
Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Truffle Powder Seasoning
Transfer your Whipped Ricotta to a piping bag (or a ziploc bag) cutting the tip off the end of the bag to create a round hole (or use a round piping tip)
Place your potato pavés on your serving plate.
Pipe a line of your Truffle Ricotta along the top of the Pavés
Grate some parmesan overtop
Drizzle with olive oil
Garnish with Truffle Powder, or freshly grated truffle
Notes: Once adorned with the ricotta, these are best eaten right away.
Leftover plain potato pavés can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days and reheated in the oven or refried before serving.
The Whipped Ricotta will last 3-4 days in the fridge.
Enjoy!
