We value your privacy
We use cookies to help give you the best experience on our site and to allow us and third parties to customise the marketing content you see across websites and social media. For more information see our
Potato bake with anchovies
Serves: 6-8 as a side
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Rita Platts
Potato bake with anchovies
This is a famous Swedish dish that Kirstie Allsopp learned from a friend. In Sweden it's known as Janssons frestelse, or "Jansson's temptation". It's great with a grilled chop or steak
Serves: 6-8 as a side
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time:
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
545Kcal
Fat
34gr
Saturates
21gr
Carbs
50gr
Sugars
7gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
8gr
Salt
0.3gr
Kirstie Allsopp
TV presenter Kirstie loves to entertain at home.She is passionate about food and caters for armies of visitors when she's not filming.
Kirstie Allsopp
TV presenter Kirstie loves to entertain at home.She is passionate about food and caters for armies of visitors when she's not filming.
Ingredients
- 6 medium waxy or baking potatoes, peeled
- 40g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
- 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 10 anchovies, from a tin, or more if you like
- 300ml double cream
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
Step by step
Get ahead
Prepare to the end of step 1 a few hours ahead, keeping the potatoes in water.
-
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Cut the potatoes into ½ cm slices, then into matchsticks (you can use a mandoline attachment if you have one). Put in a pan or bowl of cold water as you prepare them, to prevent browning and to get rid of excess starch.
-
Heat 15g of the butter in a large frying pan and fry the onions on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are golden and transparent – 20-30 minutes.
-
Butter a large ovenproof dish, about 2.5 litres. Put in one layer of potato – use a third – then a layer of half the cooked onion. Add 5 of the anchovies, spreading them out evenly, then a few small cubes of butter. Repeat these layers, finishing with a final layer of potato sticks. Pour over the cream, press down, then scatter with the breadcrumbs. Putting some more butter on top will make the crumbs even crisper. Season with black pepper.
-
Bake for 40-55 minutes, or a little bit longer if using the hot oven of an Aga, until the potatoes are tender (the timing will depend on just how thinly your potatoes are cut). Press the potatoes down with the back of a spoon after 20 minutes to submerge all the potato in the cream. The dish is ready when the potatoes are soft when pierced with a knife, and the top is nicely brown and crisp.
Recipe from Kirstie’s Real Kitchen (Hodder & Stoughton, £25).