Since I bought my Benriner mandoline slicer a couple of months ago, it’s been working hard to earn its keep in my kitchen. The first time I used it to finely shred celeriac, I was extremely cautious (some would call me clumsy) and the whole process took forever. Fortunately, I’ve grown a lot more comfortable using this apparatus since. The best part? Recipes that I couldn’t attempt before without a mandoline are now possible. This Crispy Potato Roast from smitten kitchen is a fine example.
Roasting potatoes in duck fat and seasoned with thyme, salt, pepper, and aleppo pepper is no big deal. But a novel presentation of thinly sliced potatoes filling the roasting dish like an accordion breathes new life to a dinner staple. All the extra exposed surface area of the potato slices mean extra crispy edges! Despite sharing a similar cutting technique as gratin, just by changing up the way the slices are arranged in the baking dish and ditching the cream, the result cannot be more different. Instead of a creamy texture with the slices of potatoes melting into each other, this casserole entices with stacks of potato chips all crisped and golden from duck fat generously brushed over the top. The bottom is soft and tender for a nice contrast of texture. The slivers of shallot slipped between the chips infuse the potato with flavour and the sprinkling of aleppo pepper adds a mild spicy kick.
I used German Butterball potato for this dish. They are very similar to the widely available Yukon Gold down to the golden colour of the flesh. It was so much fun to turn a bag of potatoes into uniform slices. The simple action of sliding the root vegetable up and down the mandoline until it is down to a tiny nub is almost meditative. Just a word of warning: this casserole takes a long time to bake! I highly recommend that you make use of the extra oven space in the mean time to roast other vegetable. Since all the potatoes are already sliced, each person can opt to serve themselves as much or as little as they like. Although I suspect it is rather tempting to grab a large portion since this is so additive to munch slice after slice!
For a dish of roasted potatoes, this one is incredibly handsome. The brown and golden hues combined with the slightly askewed vertical layers make for a dramatic presentation. Of course it is still just roasted potatoes! If you ask me, I think it gives the traditional mashed potato a run for its money for a place on my Thanksgiving table this year. It’s never too early to plan for Thanksgiving, right?
