October 10, 2015October 10, 2015 by PoisePubs

Sylvia’s Savoury Potato Layer Cake

Food photos by Ian McCausland
Recipe from: The Cellar Door (October 2015, Issue 22)

This delicious potato dish doubles as a beautiful vegetarian main course or a new side dish that might just overshadow that turkey this Thanksgiving! Don’t forget to pick up the perfect wine pairing (listed at the end) at Banville & Jones Wine Co.

Sylvia’s Savoury Potato Layer Cake

Photo by Ian McCausland

For the tomato layers:
2 medium onions, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cans (796 ml) San Marzano tomatoes, drained well and chopped
freshly ground black pepper
pinch of spicy red pepper flakes

Sauté onion in olive oil with red pepper flakes, add chopped tomatoes and cook over medium heat about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Divide into 2 equal portions.

For the potato/cheese layers:
8 large red potatoes, cleaned but not peeled,
cooked, roughly mashed and cooled slightly
4 large eggs, beaten
1¼ cups Monterey Jack cheese, diced
1½ cups other soft and aged cheeses: anything from mozzarella to old white cheddar, diced
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, coarsely grated
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup fresh oregano, chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
To assemble, you will need a pinch of coarse sea salt, butter, parchment paper, aluminum foil, and a 12” springform pan.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together mashed potatoes, eggs, cheeses, fresh herbs and divide into 3 equal portions. Butter the springform pan and add a ring of parchment paper to inside wall of pan to make a parchment riser about twice the height of the original pan.

Cover bottom with 1/3 of potato mix. Add half the tomato layer, then another potato/cheese layer, then tomato, then potato/cheese. Brush the top with olive oil and fold extra parchment around the edges over the top of the cake. Bake the cake for about an hour, then cover with foil and bake another 20 minutes. Remove foil, cool cake, and let it sit for at least 20 minutes to set.

Transfer cake in the pan to a serving platter, remove springform and peel away parchment. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt to serve.

Wine Pairings