A Potato Layer Cake by any other name

I've mentioned before that I am a mag hag - show me a glossy magazine (food, fashion, home or scrapbooking) and I'll sit quietly in the corner for hours, emerging only to grab another pack of Post-It tags and a cup of tea.

One of my latest favourites is the British olive magazine. It's full of great recipes, fab photos, reader reviews and articles on eating out around the UK and the world.

However, the seasons are a bit back-to-front, as they are in the northern hemisphere, and we are in the south. But all is not lost - it takes so long for non-subscription copies of the mag to reach our shores that they are being fairly up-to-date for us.

Here is a recipe I made from the early-summer edition - a potato 'pie' that is very like a layered potato cake, filled with cheese, butter and sage. This recipe does take 2 hours to cook, so best to prepare it the day before you need it. Perfect for a day in a punt on a river (in England) or a spring picnic by a beach (in Australia).



Sage and onion potato pie
serves 4

Ingredients
2 medium onions, finely sliced
50g butter (for cooking onions)
1kg red-skinned potatoes, like Desiree or Pontiac
120g grated cheddar cheese
50g butter (for layering with the potatoes)
1 bunch sage, leaves only

Method

1. Heat oven to 200 deg C (400 deg F)
2. Fry the onion in 50g butter until soft, about 5 minutes
3. Grease an 18cmx7cm springform tin with a little butter. (I think you could also line a normal baking tin with foil instead, although this may prevent the potato from browning up).
4. Place an overlapping layer of potato slices around the edge of the pan, and a layer of concentric overlapping discs on the base.
5. Scatter with some onion, cheese and sage leaves. Season with salt and pepper and dot with a little butter.
6. Continue layering with potato, onion, cheese and sage leaves, until you reach the top of the side layer of potatoes.
7. Sit the tin on a baking sheet and cover loosely with a scrunched up piece of foil. (It's important to put it on a baking sheet because, if you're using a springform tin, the butter will melt and leak out of the tin, so you need the baking sheet to contain it).
8. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes until the top is crisp and golden.
9. Cool in the tin and cut into wedges and serve with salad.

Recipe adapted from olive (June 2009)

Ingredients and preparation: sliced potatoes, onions and sage


Cook in a springform tin on a baking sheet

Cut into wedges to serve

Love the crispy bits on top!