Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.

Tim Chin

Pommes boulangère: You know this dish—you love this dish—even though you’ve never had it. It’s another one of those French potato side dishes that steal the show. It’s just as rich as potato gratin, but there’s no cheese. It’s just as meaty as fondant potatoes, but the potatoes are sliced thinly instead of turned into cylinders. It’s another example of the blessedly delicious marriage of potatoes and onions caramelized in butter, but it’s a little fancier, a little more luxe. The name translates to “baker’s potatoes,” and its origins stretch back to the time when ovens weren’t commonplace, and, the story goes, people would prep a little casserole of sliced potatoes and onions and hand it over to the local baker to bake off once the day’s loaves were done. And even though it looks like a million bucks, it’s simple: Sliced potatoes are cooked with caramelized onions and beef stock until they’re fork tender and sticky with reduced stock.

Pommes Boulangère