Tempting potato cake
In the Karoo cookbook, it reads: « An intriguing legend surrounds this dish. It is said that way back a religious zealot foreswore all earthly pleasures and embarked on a hunger strike. One day he caught a whiff of this potato cake. The aroma alone was sufficient to change his mind.”
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- Potatoes 6, large, peeled and sliced into matchsticks, then patted dry with paper towel
- Onions 4, large, finely chopped
- Butter a bit more than 4 Tbsp (60 g)
- Anchovies canned in oil, 1-1/2 oz (45 g), see Note below
- Salt + pepper
- Cream fresh, 1 cup (250 ml)
- Breadcrumbs 2 Tbsp (30 ml)
- Cheddar cheese grated, 4 Tbsp (60 ml)
- Parsley chopped, fresh, 2 Tbsp (30 ml)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Sauté the onions in butter.
- Place the dry potato matchsticks in a greased casserole dish with the onions, anchovies and the anchovy oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour over ½ cup of cream.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven heat to 350°F (180°C).
- Pour on the rest of the cream. Combine the breadcrumbs, grated cheese (I used Dutch Mimolette) and parsley together and sprinkle on top.
- Bake for a further 20-30 minutes until the cream has been absorbed and the top is golden brown.
Notes
Anchovies: You don’t identify anchovies with earthly pleasure? It’s a shame they have such a bad rap in the US due to the overuse of their salty kin on cheap pizza. Good canned anchovies don’t have nearly the overbearing fishy taste that has you now desperately searching for an alternative. Give them a try.