need help with "new" potato preparation

[oraklet]

at a restaurant a few weeks ago i was served a preparation of potato that i'd never tried before: very thick (peeled) slices (think a medium-to-big potato, ends cut off and split in two) with the taste and texture of well-baked potato: deep rich taste, almost buttery texture, light golden outside. i would like to make it at home, but i was so occupied with the meal and the company that i never asked how it was done, so now it's up to you, fellow egulleteers.

i can imagine several ways to get the result i wish for, but there are problems involved with them all, i think:

1) bake potatoes till allmost finished. peel and slice. finish in oven at high heat. this may dry them out, perhaps, and peeling is problematic?

2) preboil till half finished, peel, slice, finish in oven. same problems as above?

3) peel, slice, bake. again, problems with drying out.

perhaps this is a preparation well known to gourmets, with a proper french denomination . anybody got a clue?

[Jon Tseng]

I wonder if that's anything like fondant potatoes, which are chunks/thickish slices. Have seen these described cooked in the oven in a sealed bag with seasonings a little bit of fat/stock, or alternately braised in oven with some stock.

This makes them melting tender (I am told) - not crispy on outside (were your's crispy?)

Alternately ring the restaurant and ask... worst they can do is say no!

cheerio

J

[oraklet]

damn, you're right - they weren't crispy. and yes, i remember now, they were called "fondant". thanx a lot. i'm getting closer, i think.

"cooked in the oven in a sealed bag with seasonings a little bit of fat/stock, or alternately braised in oven with some stock."

braised in oven with stock probably would give one either "boiled" or dried-out potato. the sealed bag sounds right, though what kind of bag? perhaps a big pan with lid on?

[AdamLawrence]

Matthew Fort describes the cooking of fondant potatoes in his book about Paul Heathcote. I don't have the book with me at the moment, but from memory it involved slices of potato being chucked into a pan with a bit of water and a lot of butter. I'll dig out the book at lunchtime.

Adam

[Jon Tseng]

braised in oven with stock probably would give one either "boiled" or dried-out potato. the sealed bag sounds right, though what kind of bag? perhaps a big pan with lid on?

Like a plastic roasting bag I think. Key to be airtight and quite a tight fit around the spuds so they're bathed in the liquid/fat. Pan probably too big and not airtight.

Goose fat is also an alternative to butter here. Spot of thyme perhaps?

J

[Huevos del Toro]

Saffron Fondant Potatoes?

[oraklet]

getting still closer (and the recipes seem to agree on adding liquid). only problem is, i want to serve this for 20 dinner guests as part of a three-course meal. will have to figure out the practical details. any ideas?

[jackal10]

getting still closer (and the recipes seem to agree on adding liquid). only problem is, i want to serve this for 20 dinner guests as part of a three-course meal. will have to figure out the practical details. any ideas?

Its easy. Its basically just potato slices cooked in stock instead of boiled in water.

They will sit, warm, for a long time.

You can prepare ahead of time and just reheat in batches, which is why restaurants like them

Alternatively do in plastic bags (sous-vide) which can sit in a warm oven for as long as you like.

Pretty bomb-proof.

20 people, maybe 10lbs raw potatos. Choose a waxy variety like Nicola.

Peel, slice well ahead of time (lunchtime?) and hold in cold salt water

Personally I'd cook them, if you have the oven space, in the oven with the stock and fat (goose, duck or butter) and seasonings, in a couple of baking pans covered over with foil, medium oven. I'd put them in about an hour and a half before needed, and move them to a very low heat when they seem nearly done.

If you have to cook them on top of the stove use several smaller pans rather then one big one, and be careful they don't catch on the botom.

Alternatively put them in roasting bags with the stock and fat, then in the baking pan, Don't completly seal, unless you want an explosion, and make sure the bag is of the type that can take the temperature.

Edited March 27, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[oraklet]

thanks, all. i'll give it a try tomorrow.

[Peter B Wolf]

The way I remember them done in Europe was to select, yes waxy (Nicola) Potatoes. preferably the size of a medium or small Egg. Peeling them from point to point, shaping them sort of "olongating" with tips cut off. (Zeppelin shape) Blanching in salted water to 2/3 doneness. Patting dry, lining up one layer in buttered braisier, drizzle with Glace de Viande, cover and finish in oven without 'crusting'. (A basting with the Glace will prevent the crusting but achieve a 'syrupy' finished product).

Edited March 27, 2003 by Peter B Wolf (log)

[Andy Lynes]

The best fondant is made with potato and butter only. Slice the potato into inch or so thick slices (you can cut them into rounds with a scone cutter if you must), pack into a oven proof pan with an awful lot of cold diced butter, enough to completely immerse the potato when melted, and cook at a very low heat until tender. If you have a hot top, do them on the very edge where it is least hot. They should brown up rather nicely, but if for some reason they dont you can always fry them at the last moment to get some colour. Expensive, but worth it.

[oraklet]

so, i served the fondant potatoes for 21 guests last saturday, and they were very, very nice (though not absolutely perfect - some of them had split). baked for 2 h. at 120C, lid on, and 1/2 hour at 230C, lid off, convection. made with chicken and duck stock plus lots of butter. mmmm.

served with sliced slow-pan-fried duck breast and finely sliced sauteed cabbage with orange peel zest and -juice. (next time i'll add koriander)

thanx, everybody!