Garlic Parmesan Potato Pave Recipe with Crème Fraîche

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• It takes time, but most of that time is hands-off
• One of the best potato dishes in the world!
• Presentation can be super fancy if desired, elevating a simple potato to sheer indulgence!
• These will go with almost anything
• They can be made ahead and frozen for even more convenience!

What is Potato Pavé (Potato Terrine)?

France is the origin of this dish, which isn’t at all surprising. Pavé in French refers to paving stones, and the potatoes are meant to resemble paving stones in this recipe. This was popularized in the US by Thomas Keller when he appeared on the Martha Stewart show, but you can find versions of potato terrine throughout France.

The basic premise of Potato Pave is very thinly sliced starchy potatoes that are soaked in cream, then the potato slices are layered, with each layer seasoned with various ingredients and a little butter. It is baked, then compressed as it cools. It usually sits in the fridge overnight for best results, then it is cut into smaller pieces and shallow fried in clarified butter for a crispy but creamy beautiful treat!

We top ours with créme fraîche and maybe some herbs, or if you want to be really fancy, add a little caviar. It’s definitely something your guests will remember! 

Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

• Heavy Cream: The potatoes sit in the heavy cream so they don’t brown and some of the cream makes its way into the dish.
• Potatoes: Russet potatoes are the best (by far) option and they are widely available at most grocery stores.
• Unsalted Butter: We prefer unsalted butter as we can adjust seasoning better
• Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
• Garlic Confit: You can easily make your own garlic confit HERE.
• Parmesan Cheese: Use the good stuff, parmigiano reggiano freshly grated for best results.
• Clarified Butter: Clarified butter is great to fry the pavé in the final step as it will impart a buttery flavor but since it is clarified, the milk fats won’t burn so there will be no bitter flavor. You can find clarified butter or ghee at most grocery stores.
• Crème Fraîche: Just a small amount to add another flavor to the finished dish.

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are some common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Garlic Confit: You can certainly use sauteed garlic, or even a small amount of raw garlic if desired, but garlic confit works perfectly in this recipe and is easy to make.
• Parmesan Cheese: Pecorino, or grana padano are both good substitutes for parmesan if desired.
• Crème Fraîche: Sour cream can be substituted with good results.
• Clarified Butter: Ghee works just as well here but you can also use a neutral oil such as avocado or grape seed oil if desired, but it will not be as buttery in flavor.

How to Make Potato Pavé

This recipe is so worth the time, but it isn’t a simple “whip it up” on a Tuesday night potato dish. The potatoes are sliced very thinly and soaked in cream first. Then they are layered in a pan and seasoned every other layer with salt and pepper, garlic confit, a little butter, and a sprinkling of grated parmesan.  The pan has parchment paper inside it so it can be pulled out easily. Once assembled, the potatoes are baked, then cooled. Then they are weighted and compressed while they chill in the fridge overnight.

The next day, the potato loaf is removed and trimmed and cut into smaller cubes or rectangular pieces. These pieces are fried in a pan using clarified butter until crispy on the outside!

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this dish

• Mandolin to slice the potatoes. This is the easiest way to achieve thin potato-chip thin slices.
• Loaf pan or similar high sided square or rectangular pan to bake the potatoes in the oven. We use a ⅓ hotel pan that is 13x7x2 ½” and it holds about 2 ⅓ quarts. An 8x8x3 or 9x9x2 will work here as well.
• Parchment paper to line the loaf pan for easy removal of the potato pavé once it's cooked.
• Nonstick spray helps to get the parchment paper to stick to the sides of the loaf pan.
• Aluminum foil ​to cover the potatoes while they bake.
• Large sauté pan to crisp up the outside of the pavé in clarified butter to serve.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare the Potatoes

• Add the cream to a large bowl. Peel the potatoes and trim them if necessary to fit the mandolin. Very thinly slice the potatoes on a mandolin - carefully. They should be thin like a potato chip. Immediately place the potatoes in the bowl of cream.

Assemble the Pavé

• Spray the baking dish or loaf pan with nonstick spray. Place parchment paper down in the dish leaving a few inches of overhang on each side so the potatoes can be easily removed. Spread a tablespoon of butter in a thin layer over the parchment paper, including the sides.
• Pull the sliced potatoes directly from the cream and shingle a couple of layers of potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Then add a few small pieces of butter (about pea-sized), then add a few cloves of crushed garlic confit. Sprinkle the layer with a little grated parmesan, kosher salt, and pepper. Add another couple of layers of potatoes and repeat this process until all of the potatoes are used or the baking dish is full.

Bake, Compress, and Cool

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Fold the parchment paper over the top of the potatoes, then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 2 hours.
• Once done, remove the dish from the oven and let it cool for an hour at room temperature.
• After an hour, place another loaf tin of the same size on top of the foil. You can also use a piece of cardboard, wood or anything that fits perfectly on top of the potatoes in the pan. Then add something heavy like heavy cans (we use heavy canned foods that we have on hand). Refrigerate overnight.

Cut and fry the Pavé

• Once the pavé has rested and compressed overnight, remove the weights and foil. Open the parchment paper and pull the potato pavé from the baking dish. Transfer to a cutting board and trim the edges off for a clean presentation. Then cut the potatoes into rectangles or squares of the size you prefer. We like smaller squares or rectangles as shown in the photos, but cut them into whatever size works for you.
• Heat the clarified butter in a large pan over medium high heat. You will probably have to do this in batches. Add some of the potato pavé to the hot butter, cut side down. Pan fry until golden brown, then fry the other cut sides. Then fry the top and bottom for just a few seconds.
• Remove from the butter and continue frying until all of the potatoes are done (keep in a warm oven at 180°F until ready to serve). Serve with a small bit of créme fraîche and fresh thyme.

Variations

Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:

• Sweet potatoes can also be used to change it up for a different flavor.
• The pavé can be cut into larger pieces - maybe 5”x5” or even making a circle with a ring mold for a different presentation.

Storage

How to store leftover potato pavé:

• These will keep in the fridge for 5 days, covered in an airtight container.

How to reheat leftover potato pavé:

• They reheat nicely in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes or until they’re hot.

Can you freeze leftover potato pavé?

• They will freeze well for up to 4 months in an airtight freezer-safe container. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.

Troubleshooting

The only issue you may have is that pieces of the potato pavé might flake off when frying. If you leave the flaky pieces in the pan as you fry batches, they will burn and impart a bitter flavor in the butter. It’s best to remove the flaky pieces from the clarified butter with a fork between batches.

What to serve with Potato Pavé

A nice steak works perfectly with this fancy side dish, but really the potato pavé can go with just about any protein. We love to serve this with Steak Frites instead of fries for an elevated version of this classic French bistro dish. Additionally, these are fantastic with a nice roasted tenderloin for the holidays, lamb, or pork.

​A trendy fancy way to serve these potatoes is with some caviar as well. If we really want an over the top potato dish, we love adding Royal Baika caviar or similar to the top of these layered potatoes.

What Wines To Drink with Potato Pavé

If serving with a protein, base your wine selection on that. If not, sparkling wine or Champagne are great to drink with potato pavé, especially if you add caviar.