Baked Sliced Potatoes

with Onions and Garlic

I got the idea for this from Marcella Hazan’s "Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking", but her version calls for about 2 cups of tomatoes and a 1/2 cup of water to be added, and NO garlic. Once again, not being able to leave well enough alone I felt it needed garlic and could do without the tomatoes and water. It wanted to have a nice "crust" on top and the extra liquid would inhibit its forming, and the garlic... need I say more? It receives great reviews wherever it goes and is pretty much foolproof, so worry not and give it a whirl.

The slicing of the potatoes is the most time-consuming part of the recipe, but that too can be simplified if you use a "mandolin". It is a device that cooks use to quickly and evenly slice or shred vegetables and other things. In cooking stores they can cost from $100-$200 but I got an inexpensive one at an Asian market for about $20. Yes, its mostly plastic (except the cutting blades) but I dare you to look at the pile of potato slices and tell me they look different than those cut with a $150 mandolin. It is perfectly fine to have thicker slices, just allow a bit more time to cook them.

2-4 # russet potatoes (approx.6-7) washed, peeled and sliced

into 1/8-inch thick rounds

1 lg. onion, peeled, cut lengthwise and sliced 1/8-inch thick

5-6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 c parmesan or romano cheese, grated

1 t dried oregano (2 t if using fresh) the Greek variety tastes best

3/4 t salt, or to taste (remember that the cheese has salt in it)

3/4 t black pepper, fleshly ground

5 T extra virgin olive oil (plus one more T to coat the baking dish)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the extra 1 T olive oil into a deep 13x9 or 10x10 baking dish and coat well. In a bowl large enough to hold all, put the ingredients in one at a time, as listed. Combine well with your hands, separating the potato slices to let them be evenly covered with the oil and flavorings. Place the contents into the greased baking dish and level off.

Put the dish into the preheated oven and cook for 50-60 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and cheese on top has browned. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.