Meet Melting Potatoes, the Golden Child of Easy, Gut-Friendly Recipes That Solely Requires Pantry Staples

For those who ask Yumna Jawad, the creator behind Really feel Good Foodie, melting potatoes (a popularized-by-Pinterest recipe approach for what skilled cooks seek advice from as fondant potatoes) needs to be on the prime of your Potato Recipe To-Do Record. Melting potatoes is a time period that refers to potatoes that get pan-fried after which braised in scrumptious broth and aromatics. Translation: Browned and buttery spuds that crunch whenever you chunk in, however then soften blissfully in your mouth. Melting potatoes are “the type of dish that turns an odd weeknight dinner into one thing particular,” says Jawad. “They’ve bought this superb texture—suppose crisp on the skin and tender on the within.”

Forward, uncover the magic of melting potatoes, together with the way to make melting potatoes at house with nothing various pantry staples (suppose: russet potatoes, olive oil, veggie broth, and garlic).

Why you ought to be making melting potatoes

Certainly, many potato recipes contain nothing greater than a spud and some easy pantry staple elements. (And this one isn’t any completely different.) What units melting potatoes other than different scrumptious spud-based dishes is the cooking approach utilized. On this case, we’re specializing in making what’s identified in culinary college as fondant potatoes, a easy preparation the place same-sized, cylindrically-cut potatoes are slowly braised, partially submerged in liquid infused with aromatics (like inventory, butter, garlic, and rosemary). The result’s a delicate and chewy potato with a crispy, golden prime, and a fork-tender, creamy backside.

Identical-sized, cylindrically-cut potatoes are slowly braised, partially submerged in liquid infused with aromatics (like inventory, butter, garlic, and rosemary). The result’s a delicate and chewy potato with a crispy, golden prime, and a fork-tender, creamy backside.

After all, we will’t go with out delving into the dietary worth of potatoes. For starters, one giant uncooked russet potato incorporates almost 5 grams of fiber, 1,540 milligrams of potassium (greater than 3 times as a lot as what you’d get from a banana!), and 21 milligrams of vitamin C. And though gut-healthy butter could sound like an oxymoron, gastroenterologists say that butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) present in meals like, ahem, butter (!), can truly assist help your microbiome.

Lastly, though your good ol’ white, russet, and yellow potatoes varieties comprise a substantial quantity of advantages, in the event you’re trying to up the ante when it comes to dietary worth, you may at all times swap the russets on this recipe for much more nourishing spuds, like longevity-boosting Japanese candy potato, antioxidant-rich purple candy potato, or ube, purple yams. (Understand that cooking occasions and consistency will differ relying on which choice you selected.)

5 ideas for making the perfect melting potatoes 

To grasp this fondant aka melting potato recipe, Jawad says it boils right down to (pun meant) these 5 easy ideas:

1. Use high-quality elements

As is the case with simplest and minimal-ingredient recipes, you’ll need to give attention to utilizing high-quality elements that’ll assist guarantee your ultimate recipe is as nutritious and scrumptious as doable. For this recipe, Jawad says you’ll need to go for Danish Creamery’s European-Type Sea Salted Butter. “I do know the flavour I’m going to get is constant and wealthy, with out overpowering the dish. The butter performs an enormous function in attaining that good stability between crisp and tender, all whereas bringing a richness that ties the entire dish collectively.” (Tremendous, twist my arm.)

2. Try to discover similar-sized potatoes

When making fondant potatoes, make sure you lower potatoes into same-sized cylindrical shapes with a view to guarantee even and constant cooking occasions. So as to take action, Jawad says it’s finest to start out off with russet potatoes which might be a minimum of two inches huge in diameter, which can make slicing the spuds into the identical dimension simpler. “This lets you peel them and use a cookie cutter to chop them into fairly spherical shapes,” she says.

3. Use a cookie cutter to form the potatoes

As Jawad beforehand talked about, a cookie cutter is not going to solely make your life simpler (we’re speaking simply 10 minutes of prep work), it’ll make the ultimate dish even prettier, too. “Use a cookie cutter. I noticed [recipe developer] Carolina Gelen’s video utilizing a cookie cutter to make even-shaped fondant potatoes, and I believe it makes them look further particular and scrumptious,” she says. “My cookie cutter was about 1.75 inches which was the proper dimension.” And, in the event you use a cookie cutter, Jawad recommends saving the scraps for making hashbrowns or throwing them right into a Creamy Vegetable Soup. We love a zero-waste meals second.

Extra intelligent methods to make use of your leftover veggie scraps, in accordance with Jawad: air fry or compost ‘em. “Combine potato peels with a couple of tablespoons of oil and bake within the oven at 425ºF, and add salt and spices like smoked paprika or celery salt for a crispy deal with. You possibly can even attempt them within the air fryer,” she says.

In the meantime, you can too go the composting route. Jawad recommends saving your veggie scraps (and eggshells!) and mixing them in a bin or pit exterior with brown materials—outlined as yard scraps like dry leaves or brown paper—which decomposes and makes a nutritious unfold for crops in your yard.

“Combine potato peels with a couple of tablespoons of oil and bake within the oven at 425ºF, and add salt and spices like smoked paprika or celery salt for a crispy deal with. You possibly can even attempt them within the air fryer.”
—Yumna Jawad, creator, Really feel Good Foodie

4. You should definitely dry your potatoes totally first

Step primary is cleansing your spuds, which in accordance with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) entails washing or scrubbing the veggie underneath operating water (even in the event you don’t plan on consuming the peel). After this important step, you’ll need to totally dry the potatoes, particularly as soon as they’re peeled and sliced. “Be sure that the potatoes are dry. After you peel and lower the potatoes, pat them dry with a paper towel to take away any extra moisture. This can assist them sear higher on the skillet,” Jawad says.

5. Don’t overcrowd the pan

To realize that lovely golden crust, Jawad sears the potatoes on each side earlier than including the braising liquid. Nevertheless, with a view to get that chef-worthy crust and colour, the recipe developer says it’s crucial that you simply don’t overcrowd the pan, and relatively work in small batches at a time. “To get sear on the potatoes and guarantee that they don’t steam within the oven, be certain that to maintain area between the potatoes,” Jawad says.

Fondant melting potatoes recipe

Yields 4 servings

Elements
4 giant russet potatoes peeled and lower into 1-inch thick rounds (about 2-inch huge)
2 Tbsp Danish Creamery European Type Sea Salted Butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp black pepper
6 garlic cloves
2 sprigs contemporary rosemary
2 cups vegetable broth

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Minimize every potato widthwise into about 4-6 sections, every about 1-2 inches huge. Use a cookie cutter about 2-inches huge to chop every part right into a potato spherical. Save the sides for an additional use. Dry the potatoes very effectively utilizing a paper towel.

2. In an oven-safe skillet, warmth the butter and olive oil over medium-high warmth. Add the potato rounds and cook dinner them for about 5-7 minutes on either side, or till they’re properly browned and crispy.

3. Flip off the warmth. Season with salt and pepper, and add the garlic and contemporary rosemary. Fastidiously pour the vegetable broth into the skillet. Spoon a number of the broth over the potatoes.

4. Switch the skillet to the preheated oven and let the potatoes braise for about 20-25 minutes, or till they’re fork-tender and cooked by means of. The broth will scale back and create a thick sauce.

5. Spoon the sauce over the potatoes and serve instantly.

Uncover the advantages of potatoes, in accordance with a registered dietitian: