Million-Layer Potatoes with Roast Pork, Garlic Green Beans & Red Wine Sauce
This is the kind of dish that feels like a restaurant plate, but comes straight from your oven. The golden, buttery potatoes with their almost endless layers steal the show—but every element holds its own. Juicy pork loin roasted to perfection, vibrant garlicky green beans, and a glossy red wine sauce to pull it all together.
Whether you’re cooking for guests or just want to elevate your Sunday roast, this dish delivers comfort, texture, and a little wow factor.
Equipment
- Mandoline or sharp knife
- Roasting tin (deep enough for potatoes)
- Small roasting tray (for pork)
- Baking paper and foil
- Medium saucepan
- Small frying pan or sauté pan (for green beans)
- Fine sieve or mesh strainer (for sauce)
- Meat thermometer
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
Million-Layer Potatoes
- 1.2 kg King Edward potatoes or other floury variety
- 75 goose fat or duck fat or unsalted butter
- Salt to taste
- Onion granules or onion powder to taste
Roast Pork Loin
- 750 g pork loin boneless
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Garlic Green Beans
- 200 g green beans
- 2 garlic cloves finely grated or minced
- 15 g butter
- Salt to taste
- Chopped parsley optional, for garnish
Red Wine Sauce
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce or passata
- A few sprigs of fresh or dried thyme
- 150 ml red wine
- 1 stock cube vegetable or beef
- 300 ml water
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Million-Layer Potatoes (Prep the night before)
- Peel and slice the potatoes very thinly (using a mandoline or sharp knife).
- In a mixing bowl, toss slices with melted goose fat, salt, and onion granules.
- Line a small deep roasting tin with baking paper. Stack the potato slices tightly in overlapping layers until the tin is filled.
- Cover with foil and bake at 150°C for 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool slightly, then press with a weight (a second tray with cans or a foil-wrapped brick) and refrigerate overnight.
Roast Pork Loin
- Preheat oven to 220°C.
- Score the surface of the pork loin lightly in a criss-cross pattern — this helps the rub penetrate deeper and gives a more appealing finish once roasted.
- Mix all dry rub ingredients and massage into the pork.
- Place pork in a roasting tray and bake for 12–15 minutes at 220°C to sear.
- Reduce oven to 180°C, cover with foil, and roast for 40–45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 66–70°C, depending on your preferred doneness.
- Remove from oven and rest covered for 10 minutes before slicing.
Red Wine Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, sauté onion, garlic, and carrot in a splash of oil until softened.
- Add tomato sauce and thyme, cook for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in red wine and simmer 5–7 minutes until reduced.
- Add stock cube and water, stir and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan.
- Mix cornflour with a little water and stir into the sauce. Simmer another 5 minutes until thickened. Season to taste.
Garlic Green Beans
- Blanch green beans in salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes, then drain.
- In a pan, melt butter and sauté garlic briefly.
- Add green beans and toss to coat. Season with salt and garnish with parsley.
Finish the Potatoes (Day of serving)
- Remove chilled potato block from tin and slice into neat squares or rectangles.
- Fry or oven-roast at 200°C until golden and crisp on all sides (10–15 minutes).
Notes
The potatoes benefit from the overnight chill and pressing – don’t skip this step! It creates that satisfying layered texture and crisp finish.
Pork loin is lean, so don’t overcook — a meat thermometer is helpful to hit the ideal internal temperature.
You can make the red wine sauce a day ahead and reheat it gently before serving.
Swap goose fat with butter or olive oil if needed, but goose fat gives the crispiest finish.
Leftover potatoes are amazing pan-fried the next day with eggs for brunch.