At home, we always seem to run out of pepper, you see, my Dad likes to have enormous amounts of pepper on everything. He puts so much pepper on his food that most meals start with a massive bout of sneezing. It’s always been called ‘black cap’ in our house which makes it sound more like an illicit drug than a condiment. Lately I have been noticing that I too may be developing an unhealthy addiction to pepper. I couldn’t even contemplate eating a meal without a few flecks of black pepper on top. It’s the whole ritual, the satisfying sound of the pepper grinder and that delicious heady smell of freshly ground pepper.
As my Dad is so fond of pepper someone once bought him one of those enormous pepper grinders that you sometimes see in Italian restaurants. Needles to say it gets used every day and is often nearly empty. I made these potato stacks at home with my dad, and you could say there is a McDonald amount of pepper on them. To be honest though, these peppery potato stacks tasted just perfect with all that pepper. This is a very simple potato dish and tates delicious with a roast dinner. There are so many possibilities with this recipe, you could easily have some crispy bacon or caramelised onions nestled between layers of crispy potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2-3 large potatoes, scrubbed clean with skin still on
- Salt and pepper
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Method
This recipe serves 2/3 people. Begin by preheating an oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Next, using a mandolin, slice the potatoes into thin disks. Starting with the smaller slices of potato, place one slice into each individual muffin case. Brush these potato slices with a thin coating of olive oil and then continue stacking, ensuring to brush some oil between the potatoes. After the third layer, season well with salt and pepper and a few thyme leaves. Continue stacking and seasoning after every third layer. At the top of the potato stack season again with salt, pepper and thyme.
Place the tin in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Once, golden and crispy at the edges remove from the oven and serve straight away
