Fondant Potatoes
Fondant Potatoes
Hi, my name is Rasheeda and I am passionate about cooking and sharing my recipes. Today I am doing a potato recipe called fondant potatoes. Fondant is a French word meaning melting. And this recipe is a melt in your mouth delight. I came across this recipe on Food Network’s Mario Batalli’s show. One of his guest hosts had this delicious potato recipe done in a lot of butter and broth. He cut the ends off the russett potatoes to get a cylinder which he peeled evenly around to obtain clean edges. Each cylinder then was cut into equal two halves giving altogether 8 pieces. Cutting and preparing potatoes for fondant can be simply cutting into slabs or you can take it to pro-level by carving, scraping and making the surface smooth. Once ready, put them in a large bowl of water to remove the surface starch for, at least 30 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the water and pat them dry, because wetness prevents searing while promoting steaming. At this point, the potatoes are ready to be roasted for a delicious potato fondant as a side to a steak meal or any meal.
Fondant Potatoes
4 Russet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chicken broth
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Fresh thyme
This is a very traditional recipe in England and some European countries although America never caught on to it. To start, you must heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in an oven proof skillet. When the oil shimmers, add the potatoes by standing each piece in the oil on its straight and smooth cut side to cook it evenly. It takes about 5 to 6 minutes for it to well brown. We are not talking about lightly brown but dark golden before flipping to other side to do the same. When the potatoes are well seared on both sides, remove the skillet from the heat and use a pad of papers towel to wipe the skillet clean by dabbing to remove oil from it completely. At this point add the butter and thyme sprigs. Return the skillet to the heat and let the butter melt. Start swishing the butter with a spoon all over the potatoes and continue to cook until the butter is brown. When the butter is brown, use a spoon to pour brown butter along with the thyme sprigs on the potatoes.
Pour ½ cup chicken stock around the potatoes and put the skillet in a preheated 400°F oven for 30 minutes. At the end, stock should be absorbed only leaving butter behind. Transfer the potatoes to a platter and pour the butter and thyme over the potatoes to serve.
