I don’t know about you, but we have been seriously enjoying warm days that are increasingly extending into evening. So it’s no wonder that grilling has felt like the most natural way to cook — it’s easy and, for some reason, it always feels fun and special.
This summer, we have added a cauldron grill to our backyard for s’mores-making and grilling (cowboycauldron.com). While it was full this week with rainbow trout, flank steak and ciabatta bread halves slathered with butter, I wanted to make a side that didn’t take up any more valuable grill real estate.
Fondant potatoes come from the French word “fondre,” meaning “to melt.” And really, that’s how they taste: a melt-in-your-mouth way to cook potatoes where they are seared similarly to how one would pan sear meat, adding butter and aromatics at the very end of the cooking process, before transferring the pan to a high-heat oven to finish cooking.
The only difference here is we add a cup of broth to the pan before transferring the potatoes to the oven. This adds just enough liquid to help the potatoes finish cooking utilizing two methods: braising with liquid while the tops of the potatoes roast and continue to get crispy.
It’s also important we talk about safety with this method of cooking. If possible, choose a pan that is safe for both the stovetop and the oven, like a cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet.
If you don’t have a pan that can transfer to the oven, you can use a ceramic baking dish to finish cooking, it will just make an extra dish for washing. If you cook the potatoes this way, once the potatoes are seared and the aromatics and butter are added, transfer the potatoes to a room-temperature baking dish, add the broth and finish cooking in the oven. What is most important to remember is that it is not safe to add cool or cold broth to a hot baking dish, as this can cause the dish to explode. Stainless steel and cast iron can handle anything.
If you want to keep this vegetarian, feel free to add vegetable broth instead of chicken. These are fun paired with just about any protein you can imagine, grilled vegetables or even a green salad.
After searing, these fondant-style potatoes get a cup of broth added to the pan before being transferred to the oven.
Marianne Sundquist/For The New Mexican
Spring fondant potatoes
Makes: 6 servings; total time: 1 hour
3 russet or large Yukon Gold potatoes, thoroughly washed
4 tablespoons butter
½ lemon, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed but intact
Handful of dill and/or thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup chicken broth
Preparation: Trim the ends off of each potato and then slice the potato in half crosswise. This will leave you with six pieces of potato shaped like hockey pucks. Place them into a bowl of water and let them soak for 30 minutes.
While the potatoes are soaking, prepare your butter basting bowl: Put butter, lemon, garlic and herbs in a small bowl and place it near the stove with a large tablespoon.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. While the pan is warming up, remove the potatoes from the water and transfer them to a paper towel-lined tray and place a paper towel over the top, making sure they are thoroughly dry.
Add the oil to the pan and season the potatoes with salt and pepper on both sides. Once the oil ripples when you slightly tilt the pan, add the potatoes cut-side down and sear for around 10 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown. Carefully turn them over and sear the other side.
Move the potatoes to one side of the pan and add your butter bowl. Carefully tilt the pan toward you, just enough so you can gather some butter with your spoon and spoon this over the potatoes a few times, so each potato gets a dose of frothy butter. Now, turn off the heat, add the chicken broth and transfer this to the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small knife.
Marianne Sundquist is a chef, writer and co-founder of Stokli, celebrating nourishing goods from the high desert (stokli.com). Find her on Instagram @marianne__sundquist and email her at marianne@stokli.com.
The Santa Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
