French Fondant Potatoes
Elegant cylinders of tender, buttery potato hearts. Easily made and simply beautiful. Just the thing when you want to impress…..even yourself!
No, were not talking about the heavy, almost sickly sweet frosting for cakes here - in fact trying to imagine a potato covered with that pasty concoction is not a pleasant reflection. Fondant is a French word which means “melting” or “molten”, as in Fondue or is the name sometimes used for Molten Chocolate cakes. But molten, melting potatoes? How does that work?
The term fondant, in this sense suggests a potato that is baked in a buttery herb infused broth, which absorbs the flavor and becomes “fondant” or meltingly tender inside. And they are so pretty - little golden cylinders with crispy edges in a silky sauce. and so creamy and tender on the insides that you will “melt” with gastronomic pleasure at the first bite. The result is a crispy, golden heart of the potato, that’s creamy and tender on the inside.
Oh, beloved potato - gloriously elevated with golden butter in beautifully caramelized cylinders. Crispy on the outside but soft enough in the middle to be called fondant. You’ll love these little “mountains of gold”!
French Fondant Potatoes
4 large, potatoes, peeled (Russet or Yukon Gold recommended)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter
4 peeled and mashed cloves garlic
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup hot chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
-Peel the potatoes and slice the ends off, so they have flat ends with a good amount of surface area. With a knife or a potato peeler trim the sides, vertically, so that you approximate a cylinder shape about 2 inches high. You should be able to create 2 cylindrical pieces from each large potato. From a smaller potato you can expect to create one 2-inch cylinder.
-Heat the oil in an oven-proof frying pan on high heat until hot. Place the potatoes in the pan, one flat end down and cook for 5-6 minutes, until golden brown. Turn the potatoes over to the other flat end, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, until golden brown.
-Add the butter, garlic and thyme to the pan, stirring together until butter melts and flavors are infused. Baste the potatoes several times with the butter./herb mixture. Remove the garlic to avoid burning it and pour the chicken stock around the potatoes.
-Sprinkle the potatoes with the salt and pepper and place in the oven uncovered, to cook for 35 - 45 minutes. Check the potatoes after 35 minutes to see if they are tender (insert a sharp knife into one of the potatoes – it should slide in easily). If not done, place back into the the oven for 5-10 minutes. Add a bit more chicken stock if the pan begins to look too dry.
-Once tender, remove potatoes from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with sprigs of fresh thyme and a sprinkling of Fleur de Sel, if desired. Makes 8 pieces, about 4 servings.
-Can be made ahead by frying the potatoes on both ends, add the butter, garlic and thyme, baste them, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. To complete cooking, remove from the fridge, remove the garlic, add the stock, salt and pepper and roast in the oven as per the recipe.
Peel and trim potatoes into 2 inch cylinders.
Fry potatoes in butter, garlic and thyme on each end until golden
Add chicken broth and thyme, then bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
Cut into the center of one for a tender, fluffy and buttery potato experience!
A beautiful potato side dish. It’s a stunner!
