Richard Olney’s Pommes de terre en daube ~ Potato Daube

Potato Daube is a dish of elegant simplicity. The essentials of Richard Olney’s version from Simple French Cooking (1974) are garlic, water, olive oil, bay leaf and, of course, potatoes.

This style of baking leaves the potatoes soft, rich with olive oil and flavoured with garlic and bay. They go well with simple pan-seared-steaks or lamb chops.

The method of assembling the pommes de terre en daube ensures the potatoes turn out well, practically on their own. As the garlic water covering the potatoes gradually evaporates, the olive oil on the surface slowly seeps down to replace it.

How long this will take…depends. As Richard Olney says of the timing: “Cook in a 400-degree oven for 45 or 50 minutes….” In essence, the daube is done when the top potatoes are golden, the garlic water has receded and a puddle of olive oil forms in a corner when the casserole is tilted.

Descriptions of options for less processed ingredients are available through these links: Vegetables, Olive Oil, Salt, and Water.

Equipment

a Small Pot and Lid
a Sieve of Medium Size
a Wooden Spoon
a Baking Dish: The one in the photos is of glazed ceramic and measures 8″ x 8″ (about 20 cm x 20 cm).
a Rimmed Pan lined with Parchment on which to bake the daube and prevent any stray drip from the baking dish from smoking up the oven

Ingredients

2 pounds (a little less than 1 kg) of Yellow-Fleshed Potatoes, skin-on and cut in 1/4-inch (.6 cm) slices
5 cloves of garlic, crushed and skinned
2 cups of Bottled Spring Water, plus a little more to adjust the level of liquid in the baking dish once the daube is assembled
1/4 teaspoon of Sea Salt
1/3 cup (80 ml) of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and some to oil the baking dish
4 Bay Leaves
Coarsely Ground Black Pepper: This ingredient is not included in the original recipe.

Making the Daube

Gas or Convection Oven: thefoodlessprocessed uses a gas oven. The conversions from Fahrenheit to Celsius do not attempt to adjust for differences between baking in a gas or convection oven. I have no experience using a convection oven and leave adjustments to the better judgement of you who do have.

Preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C.
Put the water and salt in the small pot. Add the garlic cloves and simmer them, covered, for about 15 minutes or until they are tender.
Pick out the cloves and rub them through a sieve back into the water, using a wooden spoon.
Rub the baking dish with olive oil. Place it on the parchment-lined pan.
Arrange half the potato slices in the dish. Sprinkle them with black pepper and place a couple of the bay leaves on top.
Add the remaining potatoes and pour the garlic water over them. Add water if necessary until the liquid is level with the top of the potatoes yet not so high that the slices are lifted and float in water.
Add some more black pepper and the remaining bay leaves.
Dribble the olive oil over the surface and cook as Mr. Olney says “for 45 minutes or 50 minutes…”. In other words, an exact time cannot be given. Check the daube at intervals after 45 minutes. When the top potatoes are golden, the garlic water has receded and a puddle of olive oil forms in a corner when the casserole is tilted…the daube is done.

thefoodlessprocessed