Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares are a tasty appetizer (or side dish) of thinly sliced potatoes layered with bacon, cream and cheese that turn crispy and more-ish when they are baked, cooled then cut into squares and roasted in the oven.
Fair warning: this dish needs to be started at least one day before you plan to serve it but in a way, that’s the best part because it can be mostly made, if necessary, several days ahead and chilled. Leave the final roasting till just before you are ready to serve.
Potatoes are sliced thinly and layered with cheese and cooked bacon then pressed and chilled so they can be cut into handy squares. Make sure you don’t skip the step where you secure the squares with toothpicks or you will mightily regret it.
The original recipe on Taste.com.au skips this step and my first batch out of the oven was a complete disaster. The potatoes were delicious for sure, but they weren’t anything like squares anymore. See the evidence below. Don't let this happen to you.
This recipe makes enough for an enormous crowd. It’s easily halved but, should you have any leftovers, they are spectacular with scrambled eggs, added to an omelet or reheated and eaten as a side dish. (That is what I did with my disastrous ones.)
Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares
As mentioned, this recipe is adapted from one on Taste.com.au, one of my favorite sites for recipe inspiration. You will need two casserole dishes, one larger for the actual potato dish and one you can fit inside it to compact the potatoes while they are chilling.
Ingredients
6 lbs or 2.72 kg russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly with a mandoline
6 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra for garnish
5 1/3 oz or 150g Parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups or 355ml heavy cream
3 lbs or 1.36kg thin-sliced smoked bacon, fried (not too crispy) and drained
1/2 cup or 113g butter, melted and cooled
Optional: Sriracha sauce for drizzling on to serve
Method
If you don’t have a mandolin with which to cut the potatoes, by all means, use a sharp knife but do cut the slices as thinly as possible.
Use baking parchment to line the base and up the sides of a 9 x 14 in or 23x35mm pan, allowing the sides to overhang somewhat. Put two layers of your thinly sliced potatoes in evenly in the bottom of the lined pan. Top with a little of the cream and thyme leaves.
Cover those with a layer of Parmesan and cooked bacon.
Add another double layer of sliced potatoes. Continue building your casserole until you’ve used all of your potatoes and bacon and thyme, making sure you finish with a couple of layers of potatoes on top, along with the last of the Parmesan and cream.
Finally, pour the melted butter over the top. Fold the baking parchment in and cover the top with some cling film.
Place a smaller casserole dish on top of the dish and fill with something heavy. I used eight cans of various vegetables. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.
Remove the weights and cling film. Cover the large casserole top in foil and bake for about 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the foil (save for later) and bake for another 20 minutes to brown the top.
Put the foil back on the dish and put the smaller casserole dish back on top. Leave to cool until it can be put in the refrigerator. When cool, put it (casserole dish still on top) in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
When you are ready to make the squares, start your oven preheating to 400°F or 200°C.
Loosen the sides of the potatoes from the pan and turn the whole rectangle out onto a cutting board so your top is now your bottom. Remove the parchment paper and discard.
Trim the edges with a sharp knife so you have straight sides. (These scraps are great reheated in a non-stick skillet. Add some eggs for a delicious weekend breakfast.)
Cut the chilled potato into squares.
Skewer each one with a toothpick, top to bottom. Put them on their sides on two or three large baking pans (with sides) and roast 10 minutes in your hot oven or until lightly golden.
Turn the squares over and roast until they are crispy and deep golden, about 10-15 more minutes.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve warm with sriracha sauce to drizzle, if desired, and some sprigs of thyme for garnish.
Enjoy!
It's the first Wednesday of the month so that means it's time for our Foodie Extravaganza celebration of National Potatoes Day which is August 19th this year! Many thanks to our host, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories.
- Baked Potato Ragada Chat from Magical Ingredients
- Chorizo Stuffed Hash Browns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Lemon & Dill Potato Salad with No Mayonnaise from Faith Hope Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares from Food Lust People Love
- Potato Lollipops from Sheha's Recipe
- Potato Puffs from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Salt and Vinegar Skillet Potatoes from Palatable Pastime
- Schupfnudeln (German Potato Noodles) from Tara's Multicultural Table
- Tartiflette with Fromage Fort from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
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