Potato Pavé

by Executive Chef Dean Hossack
of the Okanagan Golf Club

1 medium leek
2 tbs butter
salt pepper
5 large russet potatoes, peeled, sliced very thin
¼ cup cream
salt/pepper
½ cup Emmenthal cheese, finely shredded
(reserve 1/3 of cheese for later)

Layer an 8-by-11.5-by2-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.

Chop leek in half where the white part meets the green; discard greens. Slice leek lengthwise and rinse under cold water to remove any grit from between layers. Thinly slice width-wise.

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until soft and translucent. Season with salt and pepper.

Layer bottom of baking dish with a layer of sliced potatoes, slightly overlapping. Season lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with cream. Repeat, adding shredded cheese and sautéed leeks to every third or fourth layer. The very top layer should be potatoes only. Cover with parchment and then aluminium foil and bake at 350-degrees for about 1 ½ hours, until potatoes are soft in the centre of the dish and thoroughly hot. Remove foil and let cool on a baking rack for half an hour. Place a second baking dish of the same size on top of the parchment-topped Pavé as a weight to compress the potatoes (or use another dish that fits and weigh down with cans). Refrigerate overnight or for several hours.

To turn out Pavé, turn both baking dishes over so the second one acts as a platform for the potatoes. Slide onto a large cutting board and cut into servings. Top with remaining cheese and reheat on a parchment-lined baking tray before serving.