Triple Potato PIe

This recipe started as a request from Jim to make something he saw on social media.  I think so many recipes these days begin the same way…

Jim can never say no to anything involving potatoes, so I totally understand why he was taken in with a pie made with three ways to prepare his beloved spud.  Hash browns, mashed potatoes, and scalloped potatoes.  All in the same dish. What’s not to love?!

Now, I couldn’t actually follow the link to the recipe, unless I wanted to subscribe to an account to get access to the recipes.  Not doing that.  I’m already planning on reducing the unnecessary amount of subscriptions and apps in my life, so I wasn’t about to start a new one, just for one recipe.  So I figured it out for myself! Not that hard really. I’ve already made quiche with a hashbrown crust; making duchess potatoes for my Shepherds Pie is normal for me; and well, scalloped potatoes has been a part of my life forever!  There’s a hasselback scalloped potato recipe in my Cookbook 😀  This recipe brings everything together.  It’s a celebration of potatoes, and well, butter!

Hash Brown Crust

I always have Yukon Gold potatoes in the pantry.  I find them the most versatile.  I do know that russet potatoes can work as well.  The key to any potato you use is to shred them into a bowl, rinse them in cold water to remove excess starch (which would result in a gummy hash brown texture) and THEN place the rinsed potato shreds into a towel.  Wrap them well and give them a good squeeze over the sink.  This will remove any excess liquid.  

Now they will be added to a skillet with ghee (or clarified butter) salt, pepper and paprika.  Cook on medium till beginning to turn golden and slightly crispy.  The ghee or clarified butter will ensure that they won’t scorch in the oven.

Press them into a tart pan with a removable bottom.  You can use a pie plate, but you may not get the same amount of even crisping in the oven, and you just won’t get to admire the edges at serving time!  Bake in a 425F oven till golden brown and crisped up on the bottom and sides.  Remove and set aside till ready to fill.

Mashed Potato Filling

This is just a classic mashed potato recipe, amped up a notch.  I’ve added shredded cheese, just to give the filling a fun flavour.  Adding a couple of egg yolks works as a binder and will help the filling hold shape once you are ready to slice and serve (this is the Duchess potato inspo). 

Once you’ve simmered the potatoes to just tender, use a potato ricer to ensure the smoothest mash.  Add in nutmeg, room temperature cream (or milk), butter (or more ghee) seasonings, shredded cheese and the egg yolks. Whisk till completely smooth.   This will get spooned into the cooled down hash brown crust. Smooth the top.

Scalloped Potato Topper

Three or four fingerling potatoes is all you need for this part of the pie.  If you have a good hand and sharp knife, you can slice these into thin rings.  I use my mandolin to ensure that they are all equally thin.  I have my mandolin set to 1/16 inch.  Toss the slices in a little olive oil to ensure that they don’t dry out and burn in the oven.  Because they are thin they won’t take too long in the oven to cook through and crisp up.

Dot the mashed potatoes with some more butter.  Layer the fingerling potato slices over the mashed potatoes. Lay them close together.  If not, they will shrink in the oven and pull apart, the end result is what you see here in the photos, ooops!)

Sprinkle with some maldon salt before putting into the oven.  Bake in the top third of your oven to concentrate the heat on the scalloped potato topper and not the crust.  The crust will warm up enough.

Serve

Give the pie a few minutes to cool down and settle so that when you slice, the mashed filled stays in place.  You can serve this as part of morning brunch, part of dinner, or whenever you feel like potatoes.  Thankfully this tastes pretty good at room temperature.  And re-heats beautifully in a 325-350 oven, covered with foil.  

Whether you top a slice with gravy, or with a golden yolked fried egg, this potato pie is such a fun recipe to bring out when entertaining.

Final Thoughts

Yes, this recipe requires some prep and time.  But if you get everything ready, it really comes together quite easily.  While the crust bakes, make the mashed potatoes.  Slice up the fingerling potatoes and drizzle with oil.  The oil will keep them from turning colour, so this is easy to do in advance.

This can be made the day before, and then reheated in a 350F oven.  Even a bit lower, like 325F to ensure that you are only warming through and not cooking and removing more moisture.  Cover with foil to keep the top scalloped potatoes from over crisping.

I love this as part of brunch table.  But Jim wants it for dinner as well, so that is how I’m showing it here.

What I made here is enough to feed four, hence the smaller (7 inch) tart pan, and less filling with only one egg yolk.  The recipe below will be enough to feed people.

If you make this cozy, satisfying Triple Potato Pie, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

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Triple Potato Pie

Not one, not two, but three ways of serving up potatoes all come together in this fun pie. Perfect on a brunch table, or even a great dinner side. Get your potato fix in this fun recipe.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Side Dish

Cuisine North American

Keyword duchess mashed potatoes, hash brown crust, scalloped poatoes

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 8

Ingredients

Hash Brown Crust

• 600 grams (1 1/2 lbs) Yukon Gold potatoes, see Notes
• 30 grams (2 tbsp) ghee (clarified butter)
• salt and pepper, 1 tsp or so of each
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• olive oil spray

Mashed Potato Filling

• 1.35 kg (3 lbs) Yukon Gold potatoes, about 6-8 potatoes
• 30 grams (2 tbsp) ghee or butter
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) cream or milk, room temperature
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg or to taste
• 2 egg yolks
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) shredded cheddar cheese

Scalloped Potato Topper

• 226 grams (8 oz) fingerling potatoes, about 4-5
• olive oil
• maldon or finishing salt
• chives, for garnish, optional
• 4 tsp butter

Instructions

Hash Brown Crust

1. Set oven to 425F
2. Peel and grate the potatoes. Place the shredded potatoes into a colander and rinse for 10 seconds, using your hands to move the grated potatoes around, until the water runs clear.
3. Take a handful of the rinsed grated potatoes and squeeze the excess water out, then place a tea towel. Wrap tightly and squeeze any remaining liquid over the sink. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl. Repeat with remaining potato. You should have about 4 cups of shredded potato.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ghee or butter. Add the potatoes and stir to coat the potatoes well with the ghee. Cook down till beginning to turn golden and just starting to crisp up. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
5. Transer the shredded potatoes into a 9 inch tart pan or pie dish. Use a large spoon to spread the hash browns over the base and side of the pie dish.
6. Use your hands or the spoon to pat down the base of the hash brown crust so it is fairly firmly packed.

7. Spray the hash brown crust lightly with oil spray (I use olive oil spray).

8. Bake the crust until the crust is golden brown and crisped, about 30 minutes. Set onto a cooling rack.

Mashed Potatoes, can be done while the crust is baking

1. Peel and quarter (or eighths if large) the potatoes and place into a pot with salted water just covering the potatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook till just tender. A knife should slide in without resistance, but they shouldn't be crumbling apart.
2. Drain. Use a potato rice (or your preferred method) to mash the potatoes. Place in a large bowl. Add in the butter, and then a portion of the cream or milk. Stir through. Use more milk if needed to get the potatoes creamy without being either stiff or too loose. Add in the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and stir through. Taste and re-season if desired. Add in the egg yolks and stir through. Finally fold in the shredded cheese.
3. Spoon the mashed potatoes into the hash brown crust. Press firmly. Smooth out the top.

Scalloped Fingerling Topper, can be prepped while the hash brown crust bakes and cools.

1. Slice the potatoes finely (I set my mandolin to 1/16th of an inch) Place these in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat well.

2. When ready to assemble, dot the mashed potatoes with the 2 tsp of butter.

   Layer the potato slices evenly over the mashed potato filling. Bring them in close together, as they will shrink as they bake in the oven (you can see how this happened to me in my photos!) Sprinkle with maldon or finishing salt.

3. Place on a baking sheet and then place the baking sheet onto a rack set in the top third of the oven. Bake till the scalloped potatoes are cooked through and turning golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
4. Let cool about 10 minutes before slicing into the pie.

5. See blog post for more details.

Recipe Notes

You can use pre-shredded frozen hashbrowns. Use about 4 cups (not packed) frozen hashbrowns, Thaw and squeeze out excess liquid and continue with the recipe.
This pie can be served the day of, or wrapped and stored for the next day. Re-heat in the oven set at 325-350. Cover with foil to keep the topper from scorching or drying out.