My Baking Adventures

As much as we love mashed potatoes in this house, they can get a bit…….. boring. Roasted potatoes are great too, and grilled is fabulous as well, but in the interest of my ever-expanding culinary repertoire, I am constantly on the hunt for new ideas.

And as luck would have it, the day I went grocery shopping the market had some wonderfully fresh leeks just coming out of the shipping box. I sorted through and picked out the best ones, then sifted through my mental list of “recipes to try”.

I have had this particular recipe in mind for quite some time, so with the help of David’s razor-sharp mandoline, I got to work. Layers of potatoes with sauteed leeks and cheese – ahhh, as Ina would say, “How great is that?”

I don’t know why I had a fear of this being a super complicated recipe, but truthfully, the hardest part was setting up the mandoline. Otherwise, it was a cake-walk.

First, line the pan with a round of parchment, then make a row of potatoes. As you can see, I made it extra fancy:

Cover with a layer of the sauteed leeks, and season with salt and pepper:

Cover with a layer of cheese:

Then another layer of potatoes:

Another layer of leeks:

A bit more cheese (which you can’t see, because I forgot to photograph it, and I wasn’t going to take it apart), then the last layer of potatoes, and season again with salt and pepper:

Bake at 375 for at least an hour. Mine actually took longer – I think it ended up being about an hour and a half – but just start checking after an hour. The potatoes should be tender all the way through – and if the top gets too browned, just cover it with a sheet of foil (I had to do this as well).

Ta-da! Fresh from the oven:

And gratuitous interior shot:

The kids verdict? Two thumbs up. David’s verdict? A big grin, because his mouth was full.

Potato Leek Galette - adapted from Everyday Food

3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 pounds (5 to 6 medium) baking potatoes, peeled
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 leeks, white and light-green parts, well washed
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with rack set in top third.

Slice the leeks into ¼” slices, then saute in a small pan over medium heat with 1 tbs. butter and 1 tbs. olive oil until tender and just turning golden around the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside while preparing the potatoes.

Line bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper. Place melted butter in a large bowl. Using a mandoline or cutting by hand, slice the potatoes 1/8 inch thick, and add to bowl with butter. Season potatoes with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. In prepared pan, arrange some of the potatoes around edge of pan, overlapping the slices.
Fill center of pan with more overlapping slices. Sprinkle with half the leek and half the cheese; season with salt and pepper. Repeat with another layer of potatoes and remaining leek and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Top with remaining potatoes. Using a spatula, press galette down firmly.
Bake until potatoes are tender, 70 to 80 minutes, pressing down firmly twice with a spatula during cooking. Run knife around edge of pan. Remove sides of pan, invert onto a cutting board, remove parchment paper, and reinvert onto serving plate. Cut into wedges, and serve.