Potato Pavé (2024)

Pavé, the French word for "paving stones," is a term chef Thomas Keller uses to describe any such rectangular or square food preparation. His potato pavé is an elegant potato dish that’s essentially a more refined version of scalloped potatoes. When he made the recipe on Martha's TV show, he showed how he slices russet potatoes into thin rectangles, tosses them in cream, and layers them in a baking pan. The pavé is baked, then chilled overnight. To serve, it's cut into individual portions and browned on the stovetop. It’s a project, but it's also meltingly delicious and makes an unforgettable side dish for a special dinner.

What is Potato Pave?

Pavé means to set close together as possible and means "pavement" in French. Perhaps the most common use of pavé is for diamonds; pavé diamonds are set close together in a way that resembles a road made of diamonds. There is also a Brazilian dessert called pavé, a rich concoction of layers of biscuits (often ladyfingers) and a cream made using condensed milk. It is similar in structure to tiramisu and can be made in different flavors.

Chef Thomas Keller calls a dish where thin layers of a food are overlapped a pavé, hence potato pavé. Neat, thin rectangles of russet potato are cut using a mandoline. They are soaked in cream, then carefully layered in a loaf pan with butter and baked. Once cooled, the potatoes are weighted for at least six hours and up to two days. When it’s time to serve the potato pavé, it’s removed from the pan, trimmed, and cut into serving pieces. Then each portion is browned on the stovetop and served immediately. It’s a potato side dish worthy of a Michelin-starred restaurant.

The Best Potatoes to Use

Chef Keller uses russet potatoes for this recipe because they bake well, are dry, and hold their shape. Russets are available in most supermarkets and we (and Chef Keller) recommend you use them for his potato pavé.

Make-Ahead

Potato pavé takes time to make, but much of the time is hands off for baking, cooling, and a long period of refrigeration. Because of that, we suggest you start the dish the day before you intend to serve it: slice, bake, cool, and weight the potatoes. Store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Then, brown each portion of potato pavé on the stovetop just before serving.

1. Preheat oven and season cream:

   Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour cream into a large bowl; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

   

   See Also

   Dauphinoise Potatoes RecipeDauphinoise Potatoes (GF)Dauphinoise Potatoesdauphinoise - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

2. Peel and trim potatoes:

   Peel potatoes. Trim all sides of one potato to make a rectangular shape.

   

3. Slice potatoes over bowl of cream:

   Set a mandoline over bowl of cream and, starting with the flat side of the potato, slice potato lengthwise into very thin slices (alternatively, if you cannot set your mandoline over bowl, slice potatoes, adding slices to cream as you work). Toss potato slices in cream occasionally to keep them from oxidizing. Repeat process with remaining potatoes.

   

4. Prepare pan:

   Brush a 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch-high baking pan with half of the softened butter. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving a 5-inch overhang on all sides. Brush parchment paper with remaining softened butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

   

5. Trim slices and layer in pan:

   Trim slices to form an even layer in the bottom of the pan; repeat process to form a second layer.

   

6. Add butter and season:

   Dot with a few cubes of butter; season with salt and pepper.

   

7. Repeat layering:

   Continue layering potatoes and adding butter and seasoning after every two layers until pan is filled.

   

8. Fold parchment:

   Fold sides of parchment paper over potatoes.

   See Also

   Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise)

   

9. Cover with foil and place in oven:

   Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to oven.

   

10. Bake and cool:

    Bake until potatoes are completely tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

    

11. Cut cardboard for pan:

    Cut a piece of cardboard slightly smaller than the size of pan; wrap with aluminum foil.

    

12. Press with heavy cans:

    Place foil-wrapped cardboard on top of potatoes and weight down with heavy cans; let potatoes cool to room temperature.

    

13. Remove weights, wrap pan; refrigerate:

    Remove weights and foil-wrapped cardboard and tightly wrap pan. Refrigerate potatoes at least 6 hours or up to 2 days.

    

14. Remove pavé from pan:

    Run an offset spatula between the parchment paper and pan to release. Using the parchment paper overhang, carefully lift pavé out of pan or invert onto a cutting board.

    

15. Trim and cut into serving portions:

    Trim sides of pavé and cut into 12 equal pieces; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

    

    

16. Cook to brown first side:

    Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add enough canola oil to coat. When oil is hot, add potatoes, cut-side-down, along with thyme and garlic. Cook, basting with oil, until browned on first side.

    

17. Turn and brown other side:

    Carefully turn and brown on opposite side.

    

18. To Serve:

    Transfer potatoes to a serving platter and arrange browned side up. Place a small piece of butter on each and sprinkle with chives. Serve.

    

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Thomas Keller?

Thomas Keller is an award-winning American chef and restaurateur known for his Michelin-starred restaurants, including The French Laundry in Napa Vallery, Calif., and Per Se in New York City. He is renowned for his high standards and precision, and the author of six cookbooks.

What's the difference between potato pavé and potato dauphinoise?

Potato pavé is similar to potato dauphinoise, but also very different. Both are dishes of sliced potatoes with cream that are baked. Potatoes dauphinoise is made with thicker slices of potatoes arranged in a shallower baking dish and has a larger proportion of liquid to the potatoes. Potato pavé uses very thin slices of potato and layers them in a precise manner in a loaf pan so the dish is taller and the slices almost melt into one another. Another point of difference is that potatoes dauphinoise is baked, then served; Potato pave is a more elaborate dish: It is baked, cooled and weighted, then refrigerated for several hours (or overnight). For serving it is unmolded, trimmed into portions, and sautéed to brown each portion.

Other Potato Recipes to Try

• Baked Potato Slices
• Potato Galette
• Potato Kugel Gratin
• Potato Croquettes
• Rosti Potatoes
• Potato-Chive Souffle

This Potato Pavé recipe is adapted from Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller.