Mini Potato Cakes For That Effortlessly Fancy Look

Every week, we spotlight a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Here, Alana Kysar of Fix Feast Flair shares a special recipe taught to her by her father, pommes Anna.

All photos courtesy of Alana Kysar

By Alana Kysar of Fix Feast Flair

Pommes Anna will forever remind my of my father, who loves cooking. With the exception of drinking fine wines, it might be his favorite thing to do. Whenever he comes out to visit for longer than a day or two, he always tries to get in a trip to the farmers market and a day in the kitchen.

He relishes in spending the day coming up with dishes based on what looks the freshest at the market, and loves to pair unexpected items. He freestyles. In fact, I’ve actually never seen him follow a recipe. He’s the guy who taught me to treat salad making like an art form, to add and place each ingredient with care, and to be creative. Try new ingredients! If one idea fails, try again! While my appreciation for his enthusiasm and passion for culinary exploration took a bit of time to develop, I’m so grateful for all the lessons he’s taught me over the years (in the kitchen and in life).

Related: Grilled Fingerling Potatoes from ‘Feeding the Fire’

These little potato cakes are one of my fondest memories/lessons because they were one of the first things I was genuinely excited to learn how to make. I loved them enough that my dad renamed them in my honor, to pommes Alana. I can remember taking extra care to place each slice in the exact right spot, allowing for equal amounts of overlap, and plugging all holes so that they’d magically adhere to create a cake that was starchy, buttery, crispy, savory, and perfect every time.

Today I’ve minified them and added some of his favorite ingredients — fennel and jamon serrano (they didn’t have bellota, dad) — but by all means, customize these to your liking. They’re a vehicle for flavor, so in the spirit of my father, experiment to find the combinations that work best for your palate. Best part about these? They’re fun to make with a partner, like, IDK, maybe your dad?

Related: Chili-Garlic Sweet Potato Wedges Recipe from ‘Short Stack’

Mini Pommes Anna
Makes 12 mini cakes

4 tablespoon (½ stick), unsalted butter
½ of a medium fennel bulb
1 garlic clove, minced or finely grated
1 ¼ pounds small Yukon Gold or German Butterball potatoes (think slightly larger than a golf ball)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 slices jamon serrano, torn into small pieces

Tools:

Mandoline
12-cavity muffin tin
Parchment paper
Pastry brush
Measuring spoons
Glass measuring cup
Mixing bowls
Foil
Small saucepan
Rimmed baking sheet
Metal spatula

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Brush muffin cups all over with butter. Line bottoms with parchment-paper rounds. Brush rounds with butter. Arrange 1 small piece of jamon serrano in center of each round.

Using mandoline, slice fennel bulb crosswise into very thin slices (less than 1/16-inch thick). Add half the fennel and minced/finely grated garlic to remaining butter in saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the fennel is barely softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using mandoline, slice potatoes crosswise into very thin rounds (less than 1/16-inch thick), distributing evenly into two medium bowls as you go. Pour the butter and fennel mixture over the slices in one bowl and pour the olive oil over the slices in the second bowl; toss each well to coat.

Layer slices into muffin cavities, overlapping slices to create a circular pattern and alternating between buttered and oiled potatoes. Between each later, place a slice of jamon serrano and sprinkle salt and/or pepper. Lightly press the center of each stack to make compact. Drizzle any remaining butter and olive oil from the bowls over stacks.

Cover muffin pan tightly with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until potatoes can be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, around 35 minutes. Remove foil; invert a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper over pan. Turn, lightly tapping on counter, releasing potatoes onto sheet. Rearrange any slices that may have fallen out. Using a metal spatula, carefully turn cakes, jamon serrano side facing down. Discard parchment rounds and cover sheet with foil.

Increase heat to 425°. Uncover cakes if needed. Bake until bottoms and edges are golden and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn out cakes then carefully turn over so that the jamon side faces up. Serve and enjoy!