Potatoes Dominoes with Raclette Cheese
Potatoes are a very versatile ingredient. I owe part of the notoriety of my food truck to potatoes. If you know me at all, you know that my claim to fame for many, many years was a French fry dish; Pad Thai Fries. Crispy fries tossed in house made spicy Pad Thai sauce, bean sprouts, fresh cilantro and a wedge of lime. They were pretty epic and to this day, I still have people telling me they crave them. I'm now switching gears on potatoes these days and moving away from fries, to something a little more refined, but equally as addictive, delicious, a little unique and a little over the top. I was inspired by Francis Mallmann’s recipe for Potatoes Dominoes – thinly sliced potatoes, basted with butter, lined up together and angled to make a layer that gets crispy on the edges and creamy and tender in the middle. I lined up my potatoes on the plancha and basted them with melted butter mixed with garlic and fresh sage. The edges crisped up, the inside softened, and that garlic and sage butter added a great richness.
What I love about this recipe, is that it’s not something you would typically make on a bbq, but you can do it easily using the plancha on the Alchemy grill. It’s such a great recipe for entertaining and can be made as an appetizer or side dish to a beautiful steak. Honestly, this recipe was so good, I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to just make it as a full meal. Pure comfort, buttery potatoes and cheesy goodness.
Potato-gratin or scalloped potatoes is also a variation on thinly sliced potatoes and cheese, but I thought a melty layer of raclette-style cheese would up this potato recipe. I put a block of Emmenthal cheese straight on the plancha and let it melt and bubble. The trick here is to stick a fork in the top of the brick of cheese so you can easily remove it from the grill once it’s melted. After I pulled my potatoes off the grill, I took the Emmenthal cheese and with a metal spatula scraped off that gooey layer of melted cheese right onto my potatoes dominoes. I topped everything with chopped gherkin pickles and fresh chives, and it was a cheesy, buttery, crispy bite to remember. If you want to find out how to make my Potatoes Dominoes with Raclette Cheese, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.
To prep your potatoes, cut off the ends, but don’t discard them. Using a sharp knife, slice off the skin on all sides of the potato, making sure to turn it as you go and shape it into an even brick. Clean off any extra skin by cutting it off.
The next step is to thinly slice your potato, keeping each slice in place and grouped together, to give the illusion that the potato is still whole.
Carefully transfer the sliced potatoes onto the plancha, keeping all the slices together and standing upright. Place the reserved ends of the potatoes on the plancha, too.
Chop your fresh garlic and finely chop your fresh sage and put both in a small cast iron pan.
Cut your sticks of butter into cubes and then add all three ingredients to a small cast iron pan. Place on the plancha and let the butter melt.
Once the butter is melted, stir, and then spoon onto your potatoes. Let your potatoes cook in the butter, about 15-20 minutes, basting with butter about halfway through.
Carefully flip your potatoes, keeping all the slices together, baste with more butter and allow to keep cooking.
Cook the potatoes until the exterior is brown and crispy and the interior is softened and cooked through, about another 15-20 minutes. Make sure to continue to baste with butter, about every 7-10 minutes.
When your potatoes are almost finished, place your brick of Emmenthal cheese directly on the plancha. Stick a fork in the top to be able to easily remove it from the grill.
Chop your gherkin pickles and chives, set aside.
When the bottom of the cheese has melted and is starting to bubble, it’s time to build. To build, remove your potatoes from the plancha and transfer to a plate.
Remove the Emmenthal cheese from the plancha, using that fork, and hold over your potatoes. With a knife or metal spatula, scrape off the melted layer of cheese onto the potatoes.
Top with the chopped gherkins, chopped chives and some salt. Dig in!
And now for the full recipe...
Potatoes Dominoes with Raclette Cheese
Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
2 Russet potatoes
1 tbsp sage, chopped
1 cup butter, cubed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 brick of Emmenthal cheese
5-7 Gherkin pickles, chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
To prep your potatoes, cut off the ends, but don’t discard them. Using a sharp knife, slice off the skin on all sides of the potato, making sure to turn it as you go and shape it into an even brick. Clean off any extra skin by cutting it off. Then, thinly slice your potato, keeping each slice in place and grouped together, to give the illusion that the potato is still whole. Carefully transfer the sliced potatoes onto the plancha, keeping all the slices together and standing upright. Place the reserved ends of the potatoes on the plancha, too.
Chop your fresh garlic and finely chop your fresh sage. Cut your sticks of butter into cubes and then add all three ingredients to a small cast iron pan. Place on the plancha and let the butter melt. Once the butter is melted, stir, and then spoon onto your potatoes. Let your potatoes cook in the butter, about 15-20 minutes, basting with butter about halfway through. Carefully flip your potatoes, keeping all the slices together, baste with more butter and allow to keep cooking until the exterior is brown and crispy and the interior is softened and cooked through, about another 15-20 minutes. Make sure to continue to baste with butter.
When your potatoes are almost finished, place your brick of Emmenthal cheese directly on the plancha. Stick a fork in the top to be able to easily remove it from the grill. Chop your gherkin pickles and chives. When the bottom of the cheese has melted and is starting to bubble, it’s time to build.
To build, remove your potatoes from the plancha and transfer to a plate. Remove the Emmenthal cheese from the plancha, using that fork, and hold over your potatoes. With a knife or metal spatula, scrape off the melted layer of cheese onto the potatoes. Top with gherkins, chopped chives and some salt. Dig in.
Comments