Gattò di patate (Italian cheesy potato cake)
Creamy mashed potatoes baked with parmesan and a hidden layer of gooey mozzarella under a crisp golden crust, straight from Naples.
- 85 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.16 a serving
- 440 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 6 russet potatoes, about 3 lb
- ¼ cup butter, divided
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, divided
- ½ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup grated parmesan, divided
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, diced and patted dry
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 440 calories, 18 g protein, 48 g carbs and 20 g fat, and costs about $2.16 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the potatoes and cut them into 2-inch chunks. Cover with cold water in a large pot, add 1 teaspoon salt and .
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
over medium until very tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 16 min
the oven to 400°F. Rub a 9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter and sprinkle half the panko over the bottom and sides.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the potatoes well and mash them with 2 tablespoons butter and the milk until smooth. Let them cool for 5 minutes.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: A short cool-down keeps the eggs from scrambling when they go in.Beat in the eggs, ½ cup parmesan, the pepper, parsley and ½ teaspoon salt.
Spread half the potatoes in the dish, scatter the mozzarella over them and cover with the rest of the potatoes, smoothing the top.
Sprinkle with the remaining panko and parmesan and dot with the last tablespoon of butter. until the top is deep and , 35 to 40 minutes.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 37 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Let it sit for 10 minutes so it holds together, then cut into wedges.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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