Making good fried potatoes looks simple and yet it is not easy if you don\'t respect a certain ritual in the preparation. In my recipe I explain everything you need to know to make a simple dish into a little marvel!
This recipe is a basic dish, whose way of cooking was given to me by a great Alsatian cook. Accompanied simply by cold meats or a roast veal or a simple green salad, it is a delight! In Paris, I use small apples such as the Amandine, Charlotte, Ratte, Pompadour, Francine or Chérie, the important thing wherever you are is to take firm-fleshed potatoes. When I find some, red skinned potatoes are very good, firm and tasty.
Ingredients for 4 persons
1 kg of firm-fleshed potatoes
1 shallot
Fresh parsley
Olive oil
15 g cold butter
Salt and pepper
PREPARATION
1. Peel the potatoes. Cut them into regular 1.5cm cubes. Plunge the potatoes into cold water for 30 minutes. To make the potatoes successful, you must go through the de-starching stage. Starch can tarnish your preparation and cause you to gain weight. Drain them and wipe them in a clean, dry cloth.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan or large skillet. When the oil is hot (not black especially!), put the potatoes in one go, then coat them with oil in all directions with a wooden spoon.
3. Add salt and pepper, then mix again.
4. Bring to the maximum heat and cook with the lid on until a good smell of roasted potatoes comes out . Don\'t uncover them beforehand unless you see that they are blackening (burning)! This takes between 3 and 5 minutes (watch).
5. Only then, and not before, turn the potatoes over.
6. Lower the temperature by 2 graduations (to medium heat).
7. Add the finely chopped shallot.
8. Put the lid back on and turn the potatoes every 3 minutes for 10 minutes.
9. Now they are cooked. Check with the tip of a knife.
10. At the end of cooking add the cold butter to crisp the fried potatoes.
11. Once the potatoes are cooked, and not before, add the chopped fresh parsley.
The fried potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to roasts and cold meats. Tonight I served them with a Spanish Pata Negra ham... a fantastic combination! I\'ll let you try it!