Serves: 6
The other day, my Instagram feed had a post from the restaurant writer Marina O’Loughlin who had uploaded a series of photos of brown food. She admitted they were not pretty but the dishes were some of the most delicious she had eaten. I thought of this when I looked at the lead photo- the brown potato slices may not win any beauty awards but they would be Number One in the flavour chart. This might look like one of those dishes where you think ‘Can I really be bothered?’. But trust me when I say it is worth it. These umami-rich potato slices are so delicious and all the work can be done a day in advance. All that’s left is to fry them a few minutes before serving.
Ingredients
- 30g dried porcini mushrooms
- 90g salted butter, softened and room temperature plus a knob for frying
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 1kg potatoes, Desiree, Rooster or Maris Piper, peeled
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Method
- Blend the porcini mushrooms to a fine powder in a coffee grinder (you will have to do this in batches). Tip into a mixing bowl and beat with 70g the butter and garlic.
- Butter and base-line a 1 litre loaf tin with non-stick parchment. Heat the oven to 200˚c, fan oven 180˚c, mark 6. Thinly slice the potatoes on a mandolin or with the slicing blade in a food processor. Arrange a layer of potatoes in the base of the tin and dot with a little of the porcini butter. Season with a little salt and ground black pepper. Repeat the layering until all the potatoes have been used. The potatoes will shrink during cooking so don’t worry if they come right up to the top of the tin. Dot the surface with the remaining 20g butter and cover tightly with foil. Bake in the oven for about 1 ¾ -2 hours or when a skewer glides easily through the potatoes.
- Remove the tin from the oven and cool for 15 minutes. Place a piece of non-stick parchment on top of the potatoes. Cut out a piece of cardboard to fit just inside the tin and place two or three cans on top to weigh down the terrine. Leave to cool completely before chilling overnight.
- Remove the terrine from the fridge and turn out onto a board. Cut into 3cm thick slices. Heat the oil and knob of butter in a frying pan and fry the potato slices for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve as an accompaniment to roast chicken.
