Fondant Potatoes Recipe: The Easy Stove Top Method
Fondant potatoes have a reputation for being complicated, but this stove top method makes them easy. Brown the flat sides hard in a pan, add butter, garlic and thyme, then simmer in stock until buttery and soft in the middle. A quick brush of stock and a few minutes in a hot oven re-crisps the golden crust, the restaurant step most home cooks skip.
Equipment
- Baking / Roasting tray
- Ring cutter / Pastry ring
- Chef's knife
- Chopping board
- Vegetable peeler
- Digital scales
- Frying pan
- Basting spoon
- Pastry brush
- Tongs
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Oil or fat for frying not butter
- 40 g / 1.4oz butter
- 3-5 cloves of garlic
- Thyme
- 500 ml - 1000ml of stock depends on how big your pan is and how many potatoes you're cooking (Beef, chicken, veal, etc)
- Salt
Instructions
- See the video for the three methods for preparing the fondants, there's a traditional way that's a bit wasteful, plus two less wasteful methods that still give great results.
- Heat a pan to medium-high and add a dash of oil (or a preferred fat like beef dripping). Once the oil is hot, place the potatoes in the pan.
- Move and turn the potatoes regularly to ensure even browning, frying until the surfaces are deep golden brown.
- Add about 40g of butter to the pan along with the garlic and a couple of sprigs of thyme. Cook for 1-2 minutes, ensuring the garlic and thyme are nestled in the butter to extract flavour.
- Add chicken stock (or your preferred stock) to the pan until it reaches halfway up the potatoes, and season with salt as needed. Bring to a gentle simmer (not a boil), cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, then flip the potatoes and cook for another 10-15 minutes. (These fondants took 22 minutes in total in the stock, this will vary recipe to recipe.)
- Once cooked, baste the top layer with the remaining stock. Check doneness by inserting a knife, there should be slight resistance but no hardness.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1portionCalories: 205kcalCarbohydrates: 27.4gProtein: 3.5gFat: 9.6gSaturated Fat: 5.2gCholesterol: 21.5mgSodium: 336mgPotassium: 683mgFiber: 3.4gSugar: 1.2g
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!