I used an oven-proof 10-inch skillet, but I’m sure a pie plate would work just fine – line your pan with parchment and preheat the oven to 350.  Lay the bacon strips around the edge of the pan so that one edge just touches the bottom (and will be secured by your potato layers), and the rest of the strip hangs out and over (it will look like a large bacon flower).  Line the bottom with overlapping potato slices, sprinkle on half of the onion, garlic and cheese and give it all a good grinding of pepper (I didn’t really use any salt).

Repeat the potatoes, then the rest of the onion, garlic, and cheese – add more pepper if you’d like – and top with potatoes.  Fold the bacon back over the potatoes so that the top is completely covered – some of it may seem really thick but you cook it for a long time and the bacon will shrink a lot.  Bake for about 2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the potatoes are tender.  I recommend carefully pouring off most of the bacon fat as soon as you take it out of the oven and then allowing it to rest for 15 minutes so that it sets and the slices come out pie-shaped and pretty – enjoy!