Hash Browns à La Française (Galette)

This recipe(Pommes de terre Rôtis)is adapted from a cookbook, La pomme de terre: de la purée aux gnocchi. When I prepared this giant hash brown for my father, who considers himself somewhat of a potato guru, he couldn’t stop commenting on the superb flavor and the crunchiness. It made his day! Don’t leave out any ingredients and you’ll find the taste is worth the extra time.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 1 Galette

Ingredients

• 1  lb small potato, unpeeled
• 6  ounces  clarified butter
• 1  onion, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup pancetta, cut in small pieces
• 2  cups mushrooms, cut in half
• 2  tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water and boil for 10-15 minutes; Drain them well, cool, then peel and grate them.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet; Add the onions and pancetta and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, just until the onions become tender; Add the potatoes, salt and pepper; Mix well.
3. Melt the remaining butter and add to the potatoes, gently pressing them tightly together forming a galette…they will look like one giant hash brown; Let it cook for 10 minutes, adding a little butter around the edges and shaking the pan often.
4. While gently turning the galette over with a large plate or extra large spatula, add some butter to the pan; Let the galette slide back into the pan to cook the other side; Add more butter and let it cook until golden brown, around 7 minutes; Remove the pan from the stove and keep the galette warm.
5. In another pan, heat the rest of the butter; Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, just until they are tender, but still firm; Add salt, pepper and the parsley; Put this mixture on top of the galette.
6. *To clarify butter: melt the butter over low heat, then cool in the refrigerator; Gently pour the pure butter in a separate bowl, and discard the watery deposit.