Few foods on the market have as varied a resume as the beloved potato. You can bake them, roast them, put them in a pie, and even eat their skin. There’s herbed potato salad, potato soup, and bacony mashed potatoes. The pliable potato also stars in a number of layered dishes that might sound confusingly similar. Two classic French recipes in particular — pommes Anna and potatoes au gratin — both feature thinly sliced potatoes neatly stacked and cooked in the oven, but there’s a difference.
Both dishes layer potatoes to create a delicate and delectable arrangement. Potatoes au gratin, or gratin dauphinois, is tender and velvety, with a bubbly brown top. Pommes Anna is a savory cake, sporting a crispy crust and a buttery, soft center. Pommes Anna is constructed with minimal ingredients – typically just butter, salt, and pepper (and, of course, the potatoes). Potatoes au gratin, on the other hand, is covered in a luxurious sauce, layered in creamy, savory cheeses, and is the best variety of potato to serve with steak.
More variations on thinly sliced potatoes
In the wide realm of potatoes, there are a couple of other dishes that also closely resemble pommes Anna and potato au gratin — enter, scalloped potatoes and tortilla Española (or Spanish tortilla). Though they look almost identical to the untrained tater observer, potatoes au gratin and scalloped potatoes are not the same thing. When it comes to toppings, potatoes au gratin is the crème de la crème and the gooiest of the two. Both dishes are usually thickened with cream, but layers of cheese (like Gruyère, cheddar, colby, or havarti) lines potatoes au gratin. If you’re looking to switch up simple scalloped potatoes, however, a few canned ingredients can seriously upgrade the dish.
Then, there’s tortilla Española. Another recipe integrating heaps of thinly-sliced potatoes, tortilla Española is an omelet made with eggs, potatoes, and onion that’s fried on the stovetop. Tortilla Española is a classic tapas dish.
