Potato Casserole with Eggs and Herbs

Potatoes with onion

1. Choose fairly small potatoes, as they are easier to slice thinly. The amount of onion is up to you; I, for example, like a lot of fried onion in my fried potatoes. Be sure to have fresh herbs ready: parsley, dill, cilantro. Basil is better avoided because of its strong aroma.

   

2. Slice the potatoes very thinly. Peel the potatoes, remove the eyes and any damaged spots, cut each potato in half and slice, about the thickness used for zucchini and eggplant in ratatouille. Special graters with a guard are very handy for this. Thinly sliced potatoes look like potato chips, just without the frying.

3. Mix the potatoes with the onion and spices and leave for 10 mins. Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips. In a deep bowl, mix the sliced potatoes and onion, then add salt and pepper. Add 0.5 tsp of dried savory, rubbing it between your fingers.

   

   Stir and leave for 10 mins so the salt dissolves. This matters because during frying the potatoes get coated with a film of oil, which does not dissolve salt.

   

4. Fry the potatoes with onion until al dente. Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan and let it warm for 5 mins so the smell typical of natural olive oil disappears. Add the potatoes with onion to the hot oil, stir, and reduce the heat to medium-high.

   

   Fry the potatoes without covering the pan with a lid, stirring constantly, for about 20 mins, until they are almost done. The potatoes will finish cooking completely while the casserole bakes in the oven. When frying, the potatoes should still have a barely noticeable firmness inside.

   

5. Take the potatoes off the heat and let them cool a little, about 10 mins, so the heat of the oil does not curdle the eggs. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Assembling and baking

1. Make the egg mixture. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork or whisk. Add salt and pepper, and add very finely chopped mixed herbs. Do not use coarse stems, only the leaves. Beat the eggs with the herbs once more.

   

2. Layer the potatoes and egg mixture in a baking dish. Put a third of the fried potatoes with onion into a suitably sized ceramic or glass baking dish. You do not need to grease the dish with any additional fat; the potatoes will not stick, and the olive oil is enough.

   

   Level the potatoes in the dish and evenly pour over a third of the egg and herb mixture, trying to fill all the gaps. Then add another third of the potatoes on top and pour over another third of the egg mixture. Layer and level all the remaining potatoes and carefully pour over the rest of the egg mixture. It is important that all the gaps are filled.

   

3. Bake uncovered in the oven preheated to 180°C for 30-40 mins. The casserole cooks quickly, since the potatoes are almost done and eggs set almost instantly when heated. It takes some time to heat the whole dish through. Be sure to check doneness by eye, going by the consistency of the egg mixture. As soon as the eggs set and look like an omelet, the potato casserole is ready.

Serving

1. While the casserole is still warm, cut it into portions with a knife and transfer to plates with a spatula.

   

2. Grate fresh brynza on a fine grater and sprinkle over the casserole. Garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs.

   The casserole is served hot, as a standalone dish or as an elegant side dish for fried meat. Incidentally, I have often come across a similar dish served cold and eaten instead of bread.