French potato pie
Ingredients:
2 packets of puff pastry (pure butter)
1 kg of potatoes
250 g sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley to taste
1 onion (optional)*
Oil (optional)
1 handful of grated Parmesan (my touch)
1 egg yolk and a teaspoon of milk
* This French pâté has several versions. Some claim that the old recipe also contains onions and a lot of parsley (1 whole bunch), others that it is without onions and just a touch of parsley. My beloved one prefers the first version, I prefer the second. My parents-in-law often takebring such a pâté made by the baker in their village. The garnish is dark green (a lot of parsley therefore), has a strong onion taste and is even spicy, because their baker is quite generous in black pepper.
Preparation:
Peel the potatoes and slice them 3-4 mm thick (if you are adding the onion, chop it). The classic recipe uses raw potatoes. Since I’m not sure they will have time to cook in my oven, I prefer to pre-cook them (no onions for me).
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes. Then drain and sprinkle with oil. Leave to rest for about twenty minutes.
Butter a pie dish (mine is ceramic with a diameter of 22 cm) and line it with the first puff pastry. Prick here and there with a fork. Spread the potatoes on top in 2-3 layers. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Place the second puff pastry on top, slightly cut (if necessary) and pinch the edges to shape a pie.
To make a beautiful finish, brush the surface with egg yolk, slightly diluted with water or milk. Drill a small hole in the middle (to let the steam go out) and decorate the pâté with a knife.
To avoid the shiny look after baking, I like to sprinkle the pie with grated parmesan or powdered almonds.
Bake at 180°C until golden brown or about 45 minutes. Out of the oven (or 20 minutes later, if you want the cream to stay more compact), cut out the entire roof of the pie and transfer it to a plate. Spread the sour cream in an even layer over the potatoes and top with the lid again.
Serve the potato pie while still hot, but not straight out of the oven.