Potato Pave - P - Alphabet Challenge

The choice for P my alphabet challenge was simple - POTATOES! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love eating potatoes! You can do so many different things with them (and I already have) but I've never made this pave dish. It's almost like potato au gratin but cooked, cooled, and then sliced and crisped back up. It's a little time consuming to make but once it's cooked you can store it in the fridge for up to a few days for a easy, fancy side dish. 

Ingredients:
4 large russett potatoes
1 cup heavy cream
4 garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Butter and olive oil for frying

Directions:

1. Add the heavy cream, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper to a pot over low heat. Allow the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Turn off heat and remove garlic and herbs from mixture. 

2. Peel and thinly slice potatoes. I recommend a mandolin for this so the slices are consistent. You want the slices to be about 1/4 inch thick. 

3. Preheat oven to 320. Butter a baking pan and line with parchment paper. You'll want a little parchment overhang so you can use that as a handle to remove all the potatoes at the end. 

4. Add a single layer of sliced potatoes to the bottom of the parchment lined pan. You want there to be a little overlap but mostly an even layer of potatoes. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the cream mixture until the potatoes are evenly covered. Continue layering potatoes and cream until you reach 3/4 height of the pan. 

5. Cover layered potatoes with a sheet of parchment. Top with another pan or heavy item that can safely be placed in the oven. You want to compress the potatoes while cooking so all of the layers stay together. Bake for about 1.5-2 hours. Every 30 minutes check if the potatoes are tender by sticking a knife in the middle. 

6. Once potatoes are cooked allow to cool at room temp for 30 minutes. Then place potatoes (with pan on top still there for compression) in the fridge. Let sit at least overnight or up to 7 days. 

7. When ready to serve add 1 Tbsp. butter and 3 Tbsp. olive oil to a saute pan over medium high heat. Carefully remove the potatoes from the baking pan in one large piece using the parchment. Slice into 1/2 inch thick sticks. This will expose all of the layers of potato. Once the butter and oil mixture is hot, crisp the potatoes on the large side with the layers of potato. It'll be about 3-4 minutes per side. Once it's golden brown on both sides, transfer to a paper towel to drain off any excess oil. Serve warm with your favorite steak and enjoy!