Fondant Potatoes
A camel is a horse designed by committee. No, don’t worry, this is neither a recipe for camel. Or horse. But instead for one of my many favourite ways to prepare a potato. Preparation for me eating many at speed. I make the camel/horse point because the downside of the proliferation of recipes on the internet is that if you take several and try to combine them, you can end up with nothing. Now sure, I am simply adding to the pile, but this really is a recipe where you need to find one and stick to it. If it doesn’t work, perhaps try a different one, but don’t combine them.
As you’ll know from love of roast potatoes, I don’t specify potato quantities. You make as many as you like. However many you can get away with. Enough to keep you happy if you eat 3-12 of them while you cook. Whatever gets you through your day.
Instead, I am going to be specific about the size of a batch. Above, you can see a pan with an 18cm cooking diameter. I managed to fit six potatoes in there. I could have potentially got a seventh or maybe an eighth but it would have been snug. Each of those potatoes about 2-2.5cm in diameter and about 3cm tall.
However you cut them, there are two important points,
The top and bottom need to be flat. Level? Well that’s dependent on your skills. But flat is important
Once cut into shape, your potatoes should be about the same size. Precisely? Well that again is skill and care.
This recipe isn’t the most efficient when it comes to using potatoes. You’ll end up with lots of off cuts. Less so if you start off with taller potatoes where you can cut each in half then shape it into two delicious specimens. The off cuts could be turned into a quick mash to use later.
Put your potatoes into a bowl of cold water and swirl them about. This removes the surface starch. Now dry them as well as you can on a clean tea towel and salt (fine salt, not salt crystals) the presentation side, ie the one you want face up at the end.
Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 200c
Take a pan that can go in the oven and pour in enough oil to have a thin layer on the surface. Get the pan to medium-high heat and put the potatoes in presentation side down. Press them into the pan and if you have a meat press, lay that on top of them. You want maximum surface area contact to get colour onto your potatoes. It’s going to take 5-7 minutes and don’t even think about moving them for the first 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, check to see how they are cooking. You may need to move them around to make sure they cook evenly. Your pan will probably have hot spots. Check every minute or so until they all have a deep golden colour all over. Note, as each one is done, take it out of the pan and rest it raw side down, cooked side up on a plate or board.
Back to why I only put six in the pan? I wanted space for them to fry. If they are cheek by jowel, then, like a roast potato, they won’t fry but instead, steam/boil in oil which doesn’t get the same effect.
Right, all the potatoes are now coloured and sitting on a plate or board waiting for their next mission. Tip the oil out of the pan and carefully remove any burnt bits of potato that might have lingered. You don’t need to wash the pan, just remove anything burnt.
Pan back on the heat at medium-high and put in a about 60g of butter for this sized batch. Let it melt and then add the potatoes back in, raw side down. Add herbs. I use thyme and rosemary. Needs to be something hardy that will withstand the oven. Don’t chop them up, chuck them in whole. Now add some garlic cloves, lightly crushed. I use 3-4 fat bulbs but you use what you like. Never in the history of a recipe has someone followed what they have been told when it comes to garlic and dear reader, I don’t expect you to be any different.
Spend 2-3 minutes basting them in the butter.
Then add enough chicken stock to come up to about 2/3rds of the height of the potatoes. It needs to be good quality chicken stock. You need the unctuous gelatine from the chicken bones to make this work. A stock cube won’t work. A gel might. If you are a vegetarian then good quality vegetable stock, but the results just aren’t quite the same.
Put the pan in the oven, uncovered for 15 minutes at first. Take it out at that point and baste for a minute. Use a sharp knife to see how well cooked the potatoes are. It depends on how big your potatoes are but they will need anything from 15-30 minutes depending on size and thickness. Mine took 25 minutes, checking and basting every 5 after the first 15 minutes. They are done when a knife goes through them with no resistance.
When done, take the potatoes out. Carefully. Don’t rough them up. You’ll lose the crispy edges and they might break.
Put the pan back on the heat and reduce down the stock and butter until the stock is barely there. Pop the potatoes back in. Carefully.
Now baste the potatoes a final time in the thick buttery sauce. Add some chives.
Enjoy with a glass of wine and perhaps next time, make some for other people. But not the first batch. They are yours.
