Festive Fondant Potatoes
Festive Fondant Potatoes aka Miracle Melting Potatoes because they simply melt in your mouth!Traditionally made in a cylindrical shape, we updated the classic for the holidays using a gingerbread person cookie cutter. Not only super cute, but these potatoes are also packed with flavour and truly do just melt in your mouth.
Equipment
- 1 Metal gingerbread person cookie cutter approximately 3” x 2.25” x 1’-inch thick
Ingredients
- 8 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes long and wide enough for the gingerbread person shape and at least 1 ½ inches thick.
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste *use salt sparingly, as the saltiness of the broth will impact the finished dish.
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 5 to 6 stems of fresh thyme plus more for garnish
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary broken into 3 to 4 pieces, plus more for garnish (optional)
- 5 to 6 cloves garlic slightly smashed and peeled
- 1 cup concentrated chicken or vegetable broth or rich homemade broth
Instructions
Cut out the Potatoes
- Determine the best fit for the gingerbread cutter on a potato, then slice a little off the top and bottom so that the bottom of the potato sits flat on the cutting board and the cutter sits flat on the top. The potato should be at least as thick as the cutter (1” thick).
- Place the cutter on top of the potatoes and using a kitchen mallet (or bottom of a can), bang the cutter deep into the potato. (* if you need to get it deeper, cutting off the exterior potato will make it easier). Stand up the gingerbread person and with a sharp knife, carefully slice down both sides of the cutter. Push out the potato from the cutter and place in a bowl of cold water. Repeat until you have 8 gingerbread people.
Preheat the Oven
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven, then preheat to 400˚F convection or 425°F conventional.
- Dry the potatoes well.
Sear Potatoes in a Skillet
- Heat avocado oil in an oven proof 11” skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Add potatoes in a single layer, with space between each one and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown on the first side, 5-6 minutes (check at 3 minutes and rotate the head and feet if the potatoes are not browning equally or reduce heat if potatoes are browning too quickly). With tongs, flip each potato, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown on the other side, 5-6 minutes more.
- Scatter butter pieces around potatoes. As it melts and foams, lift each potato and set it back on the butter. Add the broth, thyme, rosemary and garlic to the skillet and bring to a boil. Spoon the broth mixture over potatoes a few times.
Bake in Oven
- Transfer skillet to preheated oven and bake until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick, there should be no resistance in the middle of the potatoes.
Serve and Garnish
- Serve hot in the skillet or transfer to individual serving plates. Spoon sauce over the potatoes and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
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Notes
- Bring the gingerbread person cutter to the store to pick out the best shaped potatoes.
- Using a unique shape like this gingerbread person, meant all the scraps were easily prepped for homestyle breakfast potatoes. Just gave them a quick boil, cooled them and placed in a bag with spices and oil. All that was left to do was toss them on a sheet pan the next morning, while I fried up some bacon & eggs.
- Precut the gingerbread person potatoes and leave them soaking in water in the fridge for up to 6 hours. Dry them well before searing.
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