Goose Fat Pommes Anna with Rosemary Salt

⏱ 95 min · Serves 6

A golden, shatter-crisp tower of wafer-thin potato layers, each one bathed in goose fat and pressed until they fuse into one buttery-crumbed cake. Cut into wedges and showered with fragrant rosemary salt, it's the side dish that quietly steals the whole roast.

Per serving: 392 kcal · 4.5g protein · 33.0g carbs · 27.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1.2kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward), peeled
• 150g goose fat, melted
• 30g unsalted butter, melted
• 3 garlic cloves, very finely grated
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp fine salt, for layering

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Put a 20cm ovenproof frying pan or cake tin in the oven to get hot.
2. Make the rosemary salt: pound 1 tbsp of the chopped rosemary with the flaky sea salt in a mortar until fragrant and pale green. Set aside.
3. Mix the melted goose fat and butter with the garlic and remaining 1 tbsp rosemary. Keep warm so it stays liquid.
4. Slice the potatoes 2mm thin on a mandoline or with a very sharp knife. Do NOT rinse them — the starch is the glue. Pat lightly with a cloth if very wet.
5. Toss the slices in a large bowl with three-quarters of the fat mixture, the fine salt and the pepper, separating the slices with your fingers so every one is coated.
6. Brush the hot pan with the remaining fat. Lay overlapping slices in a neat spiral in the base — this becomes the top, so make it pretty — then pile in the rest in even, pressed-down layers.
7. Cover with a disc of baking parchment, press firmly with a smaller pan or the back of a spoon, then bake covered with foil for 40 minutes.
8. Remove the foil and parchment, press down again, and bake for a further 30-35 minutes until the edges are deep gold and a knife slides through with no resistance.
9. Rest for 10 minutes, then run a knife round the edge and invert onto a board or plate. Scatter generously with the rosemary salt and cut into wedges. Serve at once.