Fondant Potatoes Recipe

Fondant Potatoes Recipe

from kitchensanctuary.com

Soft, fluffy fondant potatoes with a crisp top and a crunchy, slightly chewy base, packed with flavour from the stock, butter and garlic.

Ingredients

  • 4 large, long potatoes or 8 medium-sized potatoes (, peeled (about 800g/1.75lbs - 900g/2lbs))
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced in half)
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 240 ml (1 cup) hot chicken stock (, use strong stock if you can - I use 2 chicken oxo cubes with 240ml/1cup water.)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • sprigs of fresh thyme
  • Maldon salt

Directions

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.

  2. 2

    Peel the potatoes and slice the ends off, so they’re flat. You want a decent amount of surface area for the flat bits, so be sure to slice off a good amount, so the potatoes are the same width all the way along (not tapering at the ends).

  3. 3

    Cut the potatoes into 2” tall cylinders (you should get 2 cylinders out of a large, long potato and 1 out of a smaller potato).

  4. 4

    Heat the oil on the hob (cooker-top) in an oven-proof frying pan on a high heat until hot. Place the potatoes in the pan, flat side down and cook for 5-6 minutes, until golden brown. You may need to move them slightly a couple of times to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

  5. 5

    Turn the potatoes over, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, until golden brown.

  6. 6

    Add the butter, garlic and thyme and let the butter melt in the pan.

  7. 7

    Stir the garlic and thyme with the butter to infuse the flavours for a minute, then baste the potatoes with the butter.

  8. 8

    Remove the garlic (or it will may burn) and pour the chicken stock around the potatoes. Pour it in slowly and carefully as it will bubble and may splash.

  9. 9

    Sprinkle the potatoes with the salt and pepper and place in the oven to cook for 35 minutes.

  10. 10

    Check the potatoes are tender (insert a sharp knife into one of the potatoes – it should slide in easily). If they’re not yet tender, place back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes. Top up with a splash of hot stock if the pan starts to look too dry. There should only be a tiny amount of stock left at the end of cooking – giving the base of the potatoes a slight stickiness.

  11. 11

    Once tender, serve topped with sprigs of fresh thyme and a sprinkling of Maldon salt..