POMMES DE TERRE FONDANTES (Fondant Potatoes)

An elegant classic to accompany all manner of meat dishes..

                         8-10 medium sized russet potatoes
                         5 tbsp butter
                         3 tbsp olive oil
                         salt and pepper to season
                         2 cloves sliced garlic
                         4 sprigs fresh thyme
                         375mls chicken stock boiling hot
                         2 additional tbsp butter

Choose a pan and an oven dish that are the right size to fit all the potatoes.
Peel the potatoes, cut off the rounded ends and cut them into identical barrel-shaped cylinders of about 5-6cm.

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet or non-stick frying pan. Add the sliced garlic and sprigs of thyme. Cook for just a minute or so to soften the garlic, then remove it from the pan along with the thyme. Set aside the garlic and thyme for later.

Season the potatoes on both sides with salt and pepper and brown both ends of the potatoes until golden, about 3-4 minutes or so per side over medium heat.  Preheat the oven to 200’C.  While you brown the potatoes, heat the oven dish in the oven and heat the chicken stock to boiling point.

Remove the browned potatoes from the frying pan and place them into the heated oven dish from the oven. Add the garlic slices and thyme sprigs used to flavour the butter and pour in the hot chicken stock so that the potatoes are half submerged. Dot the top of each potato with a tiny bit more butter, then return the pan to the oven for about a half hour or until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve immediately.