Potato and Spinach Gateau, a delicious savoury cheesy and creamy potato dish that’s cut into wedges and served like a cake! 
One of the most interesting parts of my journey to document my mother’s recipes is to be able to put a name on some of these dishes.
This applies to this recipe for Potato and Spinach Gateau. My mother has been making this for years but we definitely never called it a gateau. It was simply a mashed potato cake. We even Italianized mashed potatoes and refer to them as patate smasci!
The only difference between this gateau and my mother’s is that she bakes hers in a casserole dish. We simply spoon it out rather than bake it in a spring form pan and slice it as a cake or a gateau.
Regardless of what you choose to call it, just try it! It’s a satisfying creamy, cheesy dish that will keep them coming back for more!
And if you happen to love gooey cheesy potato dishes like I do, here’s another one you must try. Trapani Style Potatoes Vastase, a specialty from the Trapani area of Sicily combines potatoes with chunks of mozzarella and roasted cherry tomatoes!. Or another favorite is this ham and cheese skillet potato focaccia!
What is a potato”gateau”?
So why the french name you may ask? Apparently in the XVII century, French chefs who were working in Naples developed this dish.
The french word gateau, which means cake, was Italianized and this dish is also referred to as a gattò di patate. It’s very important to place the accent on the ‘o’ otherwise gatto in Italian means cat!
Step by Step Instructions
You’ll find the complete printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here are step by step instructions with images.
Peel potatoes, place in a large pot, cover with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet and sauté onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add defrosted spinach which has been squeezed to remove most of the water and sauté with the onions for 1-2 minutes. Place in a bowl and set aside.
When the potatoes are done, transfer to a large bowl. Mash potatoes and add 2 tbsp butter, Parmigiano cheese, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir in spinach mixture and combine well.
Preheat oven to 350F Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan with butter and add breadcrumbs. Coat bottom and sides with breadcrumbs and turn pan over to remove excess crumbs (1).
Use a spatula to spread half the potato mixture in the prepared pan (2). Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups grated caciocavallo cheese evenly over the potatoes (3). Spread the remaining potatoes over the cheese. Sprinkle with the remaining caciocavallo cheese, breadcrumbs and dot the surface with 1 tbsp. butter (4).
Bake for 40 minutes until the top is golden. Broil for the last 2 minutes for a crisp, golden crust. Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Slice into wedges and serve hot.
Substitutions and Variations:
-My family’s version of potato gateau is vegetarian, however a gateau usually has a layer of cured meats such as:
- prosciutto
- prosciutto cotto
- salami
- or even sausage!
The idea would be to add one of these meats in the middle layer along with cheese. This is definitely something I’ll have to try!
-However, if you want to stick to a vegetarian version, any variety of greens other than spinach would be perfect. During the summer months both my mother and I have swiss chard or escarole in our gardens and that’s what we’ll add to our potato gateau.
-Finally regarding the cheese, I decided to use caciocavallo. However mozzarella, scamorza or even cheddar cheese work well.
In a nut shell, this potato gateau will work well with whichever ingredients you happen to have on hand in your fridge or garden!
Tips and suggestions:
- Vary the ingredients you add to your gateau with suggestions outlined above or according to what you have on hand.
- If you don’t have a spring form pan you can bake it in a casserole dish and spoon it out. The taste is always the same!
- We usually serve this as a side dish but a gateau with meat in it can easily become a main dish served with a salad.
- Be sure to serve it hot right out of the oven so you can have this effect of gooey strands of cheese when you cut into it!
- Warm up leftovers (if you have any!) the next day in the oven until heated through.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know how much you’ve enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. And please share with me the delicious variations that you try. Buon appetito!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes about 6 large (900 grams)
- 250 g frozen spinach defrosted
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small onion finely minced
- 1 clove garlic clove finely minced
- 3 tbsp. butter divided, plus extra for greasing the pan
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups shredded caciocavallo cheese or other cheese of your choice such as mozzarella
- 2 tbsp. dry bread crumbs divided
Instructions
- Peel potatoes, place in a large pot, cover with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet and sauté onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add defrosted spinach which has been squeezed to remove excess water and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Place in a bowl and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9 inch springform baking pan by greasing the bottom and sides with butter. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. of breadcrumbs evenly over the bottom and sides of the pan. Flip pan upside down to remove excess crumbs.
- When the potatoes are done, transfer to a large bowl. Mash potatoes and add 2 tbsp butter, Parmigiano cheese, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir in spinach mixture and combine well.
- Using a spatula spread half the potato mixture in the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups grated caciocavallo cheese evenly over the potatoes. Spread the remaining potatoes over the cheese. Sprinkle with the remaining caciocavallo cheese, breadcrumbs and dot the surface with 1 tbsp. butter.
- Bake for 40 minutes until the top is golden. Broil for the last 2 minutes for a crisp, golden crust.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Slice into wedges and serve hot.
Notes
- Vary the ingredients you add to your gateau with suggestions outlined above or according to what you have on hand.
- If you don't have a spring form pan you can bake it in a casserole dish and spoon it out. The taste is always the same!
- We usually serve this as a side dish but a gateau with meat in it can easily become a main dish served with a salad.
- Be sure to serve it hot right out of the oven so you can have this effect of gooey strands of cheese when you cut into it!
- Warm up leftovers (if you have any!) the next day in the oven until heated through.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact portion size and ingredients used.
Nutrition
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