Potato Cake with Thyme

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly. They should be so thin that you are almost able to see through them. If you tend to work slowly, put the sliced potatoes into a bowl of cold water to prevent them browning.

   Step 2

   Melt the butter, then brush some of it on to the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (or use a round cake pan, if that is what you have). Cover with a piece of wax paper, leaving a little extra overlapping the sides to get hold of when you come to turn out the cake. Cover the bottom of the pan with slices of potato, brush with more butter, and season with salt, pepper, and a light sprinkling of thyme leaves. Continue layering the potatoes, adding the butter and seasonings every two or three layers, until you have used them all up. Pour any remaining butter over the top. Bake for forty to fifty minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer can be inserted effortlessly into the layers of tender potato. To serve, lift the potato cake out by holding both long sides of the wax paper and pulling upward. Cut into six pieces. If it falls apart, and well it might, just push the slices back together.