Potato-Bacon Torte

By á-161741

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• FOR THE FILLING
• 4 strips bacon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 sprigs thyme, plus leaves for topping
• 3 medium baking potatoes
• kosher salt and fresh pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Gruyere
• 1 large egg yolk

Preparation

Step 1

Make the crust: Pulse the butter, flour, and fine salt in a food processor until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough just begins to clump together. Divide the dough between 2 resealable bags and pat together. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Roll out the 1 dist of dough into a 10-inch round on a floured surface. Fit the dough into a 9 inch pie plate an refrigerate. Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 375. Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Let cool, then crumble. Bring the cream and thyme sprigs to a bare simmer in a sauce pan over low heat. Remove from the heat; let steep about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. Remove the pie plate from the refrigerator. Add a layer of potatos slices over the dough in a circular pattern. Overlapping; season with salt and pepper and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.) Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.