Boulangere potatoes

Boulangere potatoes is a classic French dish, made from slices of creamy potatoes layered with buttery onions, topped with cheese, and baked in a tasty vegetable stock. Try this dish yourself for a delicious change from normal roast potatoes.

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Easy boulangere potatoes

This simple dish of boulangere potatoes is a cousin to dauphinoise potatoes, but whereas dauphinoise potatoes are baked in cream, boulangere potatoes are baked in a tasty vegetable stock.

These potatoes are much lighter than dauphinoise potatoes, and at only 258 calories per serving, they are easier on the hips too!

This is an easy dish to put together. All you have to do is slice potatoes and onions thinly, saute the onions in butter and then arrange them in alternate layers with a little seasoning. Pour over some vegetable stock, top with grated cheese, and pop the dish in the oven to bake.

As the dish cooks, the stock gets absorbed by the bottom layers of potatoes, leaving them soft and creamy, while the top layer turns crispy and golden.

Origin of boulangere potatoes

Boulangere potatoes get their name from the French word ‘boulangerie’ which means bakery. Many years ago when people didn’t have ovens in their kitchens, the housewife would assemble this dish at home and drop it off at the bakery on her way to church or to the shops. The baker would pop the dish in his oven and she would pick up the baked dish on her way home. And there you have it, ‘potatoes from the baker’.

This is very similar to the way housewives in England used to cook a Lancashire hotpot while they were working in the woollen mills during the Industrial Revolution.

What you will need

Equipment

You will need a frying pan for frying the onions, and an 8″ x 8″ baking dish. If you’re doubling up the recipe to cater for more people, obviously you will need a larger dish. This dish is large enough for 4 people. 8

For slicing the potatoes and onions you can use a mandolin, and although I do own one, I find a sharp knife does the job just as well. Even though my mandolin does have a finger guard, I’m always nervous about slicing my fingers when I use it.

Ingredients

This recipe is sufficient for 4 people, but you can easily adjust it to cater for more by simply using more onions and potatoes.

**You can get the complete recipe for boulangerie potatoes on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Potatoes – you need floury potatoes if possible because they will absorb the stock and stick together better than waxy potatoes. However, that said, it doesn’t really matter too much. I’ve used a mixture of waxy (russet or red potatoes) and floury (Maris piper) with no problems. The only thing you need to remember is not to rinse the potatoes after you’ve sliced them or you will rinse off all the starch that helps thicken the dish. The potatoes should be sliced approximately one-eighth of an inch in thickness.

Onions – you will need approximately half the amount of onions as potatoes. The onions should be thinly sliced.

Butter – this is used to saute the onions and gives a much better taste to the dish than if you sauteed the onions in oil.

Stock cube – I like to use a good quality vegetable stock cube. If you have fresh stock, by all means, use that instead.

Grated cheese – this is for sprinkling on top of the assembled dish before it goes in the oven. I’ve used cheddar, but you could use parmesan or gruyere instead.

Salt and pepper – for seasoning the layers of potato and onion. Be aware of the salt content of your stock when you season the potatoes and onions. You don’t want to over-salt the dish.

What to do

Start off by peeling and slicing your potatoes and onions. Cut the potatoes into approximately one-eighth of an inch thick slices. Cut the onions in half (root to tip) then slice them into thin semi-circles.

Variations

If you like garlic, you could fry one or two cloves of crushed garlic with the onions. You could also sprinkle fresh thyme or rosemary between the layers of pottoes and onion for a more herby taste.

To turn these boulangere potatoes into a light supper, why not add crispy fried chopped bacon between the layers for a complete meal-in-a-dish.

If you intend to serve these potatoes with chicken or beef, you could use a chicken or beef stock cube instead of a vegetable stock cube.

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Tips and FAQ

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Other recipes

These are some of my other potato recipes that you may also enjoy:

• Potatoes Romanoff
• Crispy smashed potatoes with rosemary
• German fried potatoes with bacon and onions
• Scalloped potatoes in batter
• Potato frittata with cheese
• Crispy french fries

The recipe

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