Fondant potatoes – or Melting Potatoes – are potatoes baked in a buttery herb infused broth so it absorbs the flavour and becomes meltingly tender inside. A restaurant-y way to cook potatoes that’s easy yet looks impressive! Excellent dinner party side dish.

Fondant potatoes aka Melting potatoes

Today’s recipe is a sublime example of turning the humble potato into a very fine-dining worthy potato side dish. Putting the shaping part aside (which is entirely optional, we’ll get to that), it’s incredibly straight forward. Just brown neat cylinders/thick wonky slabs of potato on the stove, add stock, thyme and butter then bake so it absorbs the flavour.

The result? Crispy edges, golden surfaces, creamy and flavoured all the way through inside, with intense herb infused-buttery sauce that’s thickened from the natural starches in the potato. This might be my favourite potato recipe of all time!

Ingredients in fondant potatoes

Here’s what you need to make fondant potatoes:

• Potato type – All-rounder and floury / starchy potatoes are best because they absorb flavour better than waxy potatoes, and become beautifully fluffy and soft inside. The most common potatoes at regular stores should be fine – they’re stocked because they’re great all-rounders.

  Australia – Sebago (the dirt brushed potatoes sold everywhere) are perfect, Desiree are great too. US: Russet, UK: King Edward.

• Butter – Unsalted, cut into cubes so they melt evenly. If you don’t, some of the butter will likely burn before it all melts. This is for basting. We use oil for searing the potatoes (butter burns and doesn’t brown the potatoes as evenly).

• Stock/broth – Chicken stock adds the best flavour in my opinion, because it has more savouriness than vegetable stock and is “cleaner” than beef stock. However, vegetable stock is the next best. Though really, this recipe will work with any type of stock.

• Thyme – Fresh thyme sprigs work best to infuse the butter / stock with flavour. But you can substitute with dried thyme though you will end up with little thyme bits stuck on your potato.

How to cut fondant potatoes

Choose from pro level to easy – or skip it entirely! Just peel potatoes then cut into thick slabs. It will taste just as good!

GOAL SIZE & PREP

1. Goal: 8 cylinders that are ~ 6cm/ 2.4″ diameter, 3.5 cm / 1.4″ height, 2 each cut from 4 potatoes (ie cut 4 long cylinders then cut to size).

2. Trim base – For all methods, the first step is to peel the potatoes then trim a bit off the top and bottom so it stands upright. It just makes it easier to handle.

1. PRO-LEVEL CARVING

For knife masters! This is method will achieve the smoothest edges.

1. Lie the potato on its side then carve, peeling curved strips to make a cylinder shape.

2. Keep going, carving thinner and thinner slices until you have a uniform cylinder.

2. INTERMEDIATE: UPRIGHT KNIFE SHAVING

Stand the potato upright. Then cut thin slivers down, rotating as you go, until you have a cylinder shape with edges are as smooth as you can make them. At first, mine are a bit octagon-shaped. Then I just keep trimming thin slivers off the sharp edges to smooth it out.

TIP: Use the back of a knife (ie the non-sharp side) and scrape down the sides of the potato to make the walls neat.

3. eASY: POTATO PEELER

Use a potato peeler to shave strips off the sides, rotating as you go, to shape it into a cylinder as best you can. I find this a little more difficult to make a uniform cylinder shape than using a knife because I find I have less control over how much I shave off with each peel. Also, peeling straight is a little harder.

4. EASY: ROUND CUTTER

Use a 6cm / 2.4″ (or as close as possible) cutter to pop rounds out. The easiest way to do this is to cut 3.5 cm / 1.4″ thick slices then press a round out of each. If your cutter is not tall enough, then use a knife to help trim / pull the excess away (I demo this in the video).

5. JUST DON’T!!

Just cut the potato into 3.5 cm / 1.4″ thick slices and cook per the recipe. It tastes the same, the potato pieces just won’t be perfect rounds (unless you’re lucky!). You won’t need all the potatoes because your pieces will be bigger (unless you use smaller potatoes). Just use enough to fill the pan around the same amount as pictured. Don’t be tempted to squeeze more in because there won’t be enough stock to flavour the inside of the potatoes.

How to make fondant potatoes

Cutting part done, the cooking part is EASY!

1. Season – Toss the potatoes in a little oil with salt and pepper.

2. Brown potatoes – Then brown them on the stove using an oven-proof skillet. I use my 26cm / 10.5″ Lodge cast iron pan. It will take a good 6 to 8 minutes on each side to make them golden, on medium high heat. Move them around as needed to brown them as evenly as possible.

3. Butter – Add the butter and thyme, then spoon the melted butter over the potatoes.

4. Stock – Pour the stock in and let it come to a boil.

5. Bake – Transfer the skillet into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, basting the potato with the buttery stock at the 15 minute mark (ie spooning the sauce over the potatoes). In this step, the potatoes are absorbing the stock which flavours the inside and makes it “meltingly” soft.

6. Ready! At the end of the bake time, there should be virtually no stock left in the pan, just butter. Because potatoes can’t absorb fat. The butter will be slightly thickened thanks to the starch in the potatoes, making a glossy sauce that clings to the potatoes when you spoon it over.

   To serve, transfer the potatoes to individual plates or a serving platter for people to help themselves. And pour over every drop of the buttery sauce!

What to serve with fondant potatoes

I feel like it would be easier to say what not to serve with fondant potatoes. With the subtle thyme flavour, I wouldn’t serve this with Asian food. But without the thyme, it would be a delicious side dish for Char Sui Pork (Chinese BBQ Pork), Sticky Honey Soy Baked Chicken or a grand Miso Marinated side of salmon !

Asian food aside, this is an elegant, beautiful potato side dish for special occasions. It’s pictured in this post alongside steak with Béarnaise Sauce (it’s so easy!) with last weeks’ Garlic Peas. It would elevate a simple Chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce to company-worthy, or add a luxurious side to a simple pan fried fish sprinkled with seafood seasoning.

Chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce

Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)

Fish Seasoning (great all-rounder)

Roast Chicken

Japanese Miso Salmon (Barbecue or Bake)

You could also cook this in the oven at the same time as a roast chicken or a grand prime rib (standing rib roast). Just put the potatoes in for the last 35 minutes cooking time, factoring in the resting time. Err on the side of caution so the potatoes are done earlier because they can be reheated simply by popping the skillet back in the oven for 5 minutes (from room temperature, it will take longer from fridge cold).

Or, just do as I do and eat them by themselves. You know I did. The only question is, how many? TAKE A GUESS! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

OF COURSE Dozer got some!!! I just forgot to edit that in, concentrating too hard on getting the new-style video edits right. Everybody knows Dozer is the most food-spoiled dog in the world!!!😂

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Fondant Potatoes (Melting potatoes)

Recipe video above. Golden on the outside and meltingly tender inside (hence the name!), infused with flavour from roasting in a buttery stock. Lovely, elegant way to cook potatoes, very restaurant-y!

If you're in a hurry, don't worrying about shaping into cylinders. Just cut thick slabs of potato (whatever shape they happen to be!) and cook per the recipe. Or, just use a potato peeler to shape as best you can. It will still taste just as good!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Western

Keyword fondant potatoes, melting potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8

Calories 149cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 4 x 400g/14 oz large floury potatoes , peeled (Aus: Sebago (dirt brushed), US: Russet, UK: King Edward)
• 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp / 50g unsalted butter , cut into 1cm / 1/2″ cubes
• 6 thyme sprigs (sub 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
• 1 cup chicken stock / broth , low sodium (or vegetable)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan-forced).
• Carve / cut each potato into cylinders ~ 6cm/ 2" diameter, 7 cm height. Then cut in half so you have 8 short cylinders 3.5 cm / 1.4" tall. See cutting method options below.
• Season – Pat potato dry. Place in a large bowl and toss with half the oil plus all the salt and pepper.
• Sear – In an ovenproof heavy based skillet (Note 2), heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Put the potato in and cook each side for 6 – 8 minutes or until golden.
• Cook – Add butter and thyme. Once melted, spoon the butter over the potato ("basting"). Add stock, bring to a boil then transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender, basting at the 15 minute mark. The stock will be absorbed by the potato, leaving just butter.
• Serve – Baste one more time then serve! For a restaurant-y option, serve alongside steak with béarnaise sauce and buttered peas.

Cutting method options (see video for demo of each):

• Prep for all methods – Trim a bit off both ends so the potato stands upright. Once carved into a tall cylinder 6cm/ 2" diameter, at least 7cm/3" height, so we can cut into 3.5 cm / 1.4" tall pieces. Save leftover potato to make mash (keep in water to prevent turning brown).
• Pro method – Lie potato on its side and use a knife to carve around to form a cylinder.
• Intermediate (I do this)– Stand potato upright and use a knife to shave thin slivers down, rotating as needed, to carve into a cylinder. You can use a potato peeler for some of this too (just be a bit careful, less control).
• Easy – Use 6cm/ 2" (or as close as possible) wide cutters to press rounds out!
• Easy potato peeler – Use a potato peeler to shape as best you can, rotating as you go.
• Doesn't matter! – Just cut potatoes into 3.5cm / 1.4" thick slices! Even if your rounds are not so round, it will still taste delicious. Only cut enough to fill the pan, as pictured, else you'll have too much potato for the stock being used (flavour dilution),

Notes

1. Potato type – Floury potatoes best as they absorb the stock flavour better and become meltingly tender inside (waxy potatoes don’t work as well).

Size – They need to be large so you can cut 2 x 3.5cm / 1.4″ tall cylinders from each.

2. Cooking vessel – I use my Lodge cast iron skillet (26cm / 10.5″). My #2 most valued kitchen item!

Leftovers will keep for 4 days or freeze for 3 months, though these are at their prime freshly made!

Nutrition per potato, assuming every drop of butter is mopped up. 

Nutrition

Calories: 149cal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 402mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 194IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg

More fabulous potato sides!

And some no-fuss Monday nights ones too. (Like Easy Roast Potatoes).

Easy Roast Potatoes

Duck Fat Potatoes – Crispiest, Best Roast Potatoes EVER!

Greek Lemon Potatoes

Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Creamy Buttery Mashed Potato

Paris Mash (Rich Creamy Mashed Potato)

Make-ahead Mashed Potato Casserole

Potato Recipes

Life of Dozer

Memories of ALL the food he got during the making of Dinner!

The post Fondant potatoes appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Pierogi Ruskies: Potatoes. Cheese. Butter. The Polish are genius – this is dumpling heaven! A great weekend project – cook some now, freeze some for later. They cook from frozen!!

A Pierogi Ruskie recipe

I’m so excited to be bringing you this Pierogi recipe! I’d eat them every day if they didn’t tip the scales in the wrong direction. 😭

Even if you haven’t tried a Pierogi before, all you need to know is that these ones are cheesy, creamy mashed potato filled dumplings served with an intensely butter onion sauce.

In other words, it is every Cheese-Lovin’ Carb Monster’s Dream come true, and she who is the self appointed Head Priestess of this Club was literally in mind-boggling ecstasy when faced with a plate of these.

They are, to say the least, one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten this year!

Ingredients in Pierogi

Very, very few!

THE Pierogi filling

It’s essentially cheesy, buttery, creamy mashed potato. See authenticity note below the photo on the cheese, and why it was important for me to make this recipe accessible to “everyone”!

• Potatoes – Use all-rounder potatoes so they mash up fluffy and creamy. The most common potatoes at regular stores will be fine – they’re stocked because they’re great all-rounders.

  Australia – Sebago (the dirt brushed potatoes sold everywhere) are perfect, Desiree are great too. US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward.

• Cheese – I use cheddar but any good melting cheese you’d happily put in your grilled cheese is fine. Give mozzarella a miss. While it melts great, it doesn’t have enough flavour.

  Authenticity note – Pierogi is traditionally made with quark, a mildly tangy European cottage cheese. Quark is not something I’ve seen frequently in Australia. Cottage cheese is probably the best substitute. But shredded cheese, as you can imagine, makes a delicious alternative – imagine it melted throughout creamy mashed potato!

  I opted to use regular cheese because I want this recipe to be as accessible as possible so many people can experience the greatness that is Pieorgis.

• Butter – Use unsalted so we can add the right amount of salt.

Pierogi DUMPLING DOUGH

• Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour.

• Large egg – From a carton labelled “large eggs” (they should weight around 55-60g/2 oz).

• Butter – Melted into the water that I accidentally left out of the phot.

ONION BUTTER SAUCE

You could serve the Pierogis will just melted butter and you’d swoon. But it’s even better with a sautéed onion sauce which is common with traditional Polish Pierogis.

How to make Pierogi

Pierogis are easier to wrap than gyoza and potstickers. Because Asians like pleating – which can take practice to master. The Polish just press to seal. Much simpler! – I’m a big fan

HOT TIP: Got a Pierogi itch that needs scratching but homemade wrappers are out of reach? Use store-bought round Asian dumpling wrappers instead. The wrappers are thinner but it works a treat!

1. CHEESY POTATO FILLING FIRST

Make the filling first because it needs 1 1/2 hours to fully cool, during which time you’ll have the dough rolled out and cut, ready to fill!

1. Boil potatoes in salted water, starting with the potatoes in cold water. Why? Because otherwise the outside of the potatoes cook too much and start to crumble before the inside is cooked.

2. Drain potatoes.

3. Mash & mix – Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or mash using a regular potato masher. Then mix in the butter, cheese, salt and pepper. The cheese won’t melt – it melts when the pierogis is boiled!

4. Cool – Spread out on to a tray. Cover with cling wrap, pressing so it is fully in contact, so the filling doesn’t sweat. Cool on the counter (about 30 minutes) then refrigerate until cold (1 hour+). You can do this the day before.

   The filling needs to be cold so it doesn’t sweat inside the dough (which would make the dough soggy). It’s also easier to wrap the dumplings because the potato is firm.

2. how to make pierogi dumpling DOUGH

You could use your stand-mixer but I enjoy the leisurely process of hand-kneading this dough. It’s easy to manage because it’s a small amount and the dough is soft. Plus, hand-kneading is somewhat satisfying, and you can (smugly) tell everybody fortunate enough to eat one of these – I made these myself with my own hands. (You know I do!)

1. Dry – Whisk the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Add wet – Make a well in the centre. Then add melted butter with warm water plus the egg. Mix to combine using a spatula – it will be a rough, shaggy dough.

3. Knead – Scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth. Use the bare minimum flour as needed to prevent it from sticking to your hands and the work surface. (Too much flour = drier stiffer dough = more difficult to roll out thinly).

4. Rest – Wrap with cling wrap and leave on the counter for 30 minutes.

3. MAKING THE PIEROGIS

1. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 3mm / 1/8″ thickness.

2. Cut out rounds using a 7.5 cm / 3″ cutter. Do as many as you can, then gather surplus dough into a ball, wrap with cling wrap and set aside to roll out and cut more later.

3. Filling – Place 1 tablespoon of cheesy potato filling in the middle of a round (20g, if you want to be exact!).

4. Dip finger with water and run along edge of half the circle. This will help seal securely.

5. Fold dough over to enclose the filling then press the edges together.

6. Seal firmly by pinching to make slight dents, the traditional look of pierogis.

   Place them on a lightly floured tray and continue to wrap remaining Pierogi (including rolling out the remaining dough). You should get ~30 pierogis. A nice big batch – cook some now, freeze some for later!

4. HOW TO COOK PIEROGIS

Boil like pasta! Just make sure you don’t crowd the pot. Pierogis needs space to bounce around! I cook 8 in a medium pot, and up to 12 in a wider pot. Tips below for batching cooking larger quantities.

1. Sauté onion first – Sauté chopped onion in butter until golden on the edges. Then transfer into a bowl or container and use as much or as little as you want for whatever size serving of pierogis you are making. 1 large onion is enough for 30 pierogis because they are only sparingly scattered with onion, like pictured. Cook onion will keep for 5 days in the fridge, or freezer for 3 months.

2. Boil 5 minutes – Bring ~3 litres/quarts of water to the boil with 1 tablespoon of salt. Lower 10 pierogis into the water and cook for 5 minutes, or until they are floating on the surface (they sink at first).

   ⚠️ As noted above the step photos, don’t crowd the pot else the pierogis will stick together and cook unevenly.
   ⚡️ It’s important to use salted water so you get some seasoning into the pierogis wrapper as it cooks. Makes it tastier!

3. Reserve water – Dip a jug into the water and scoop out 1 cup water. We’re going to use a bit of this water to make the sauce. The cooking water is better than tap water because it’s got starch from the pierogi dough in it which makes the sauce thicken. If you just mixed water + butter together, it stays water.

4. Scoop out or drain –  Then use a slotted spoon to transfer pierogi into a bowl. Or, you can drain in a colander if you are not using the water to cook more.

5. Butter sauce – Using a largish pan, melt 25g butter (1 1/2 tablespoons) over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the onion butter (from step 1) plus the cooked pierogis with 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water.

6. Toss for 1 minute, still on the stove, until the pierogis are coated in the butter sauce. You’ll see it goes from watery (when you first add the water) to thickened so it sticks to the surface of the pierogi.

   Larger batch – Just scale up the butter, onion and water. At this stage, it’s easy to eye-ball it. And I wouldn’t discourage the use of even more butter!

7. Serve – Slide onto a serving plate, scraping out every drop of butter. Sprinkle with parsley, add a dollop of sour cream. Eat and be happy!

Big-batch cooking of Pierogi

As strange as it sounds to have a whole section on how to cook and serve larger batches of pierogi, there’s actually practical factors that come into play that need to be considered! The reason is because they are quite large – bigger than Gyoza and Chinese dumplings, you can’t boil more than 10 to 12 max per batch, and they need to be tossed in the sauce on the stove.

So the recipe I’m sharing today makes 30 pierogis but provides directions to cook one batch of 8 to 10 (which is a nice amount for 2 people). Leftovers are perfect for freezing – you can cook from frozen!

But if you would like to cook all 30 pierogis, here’s some practical tips for how to do it!

boiling large batches

Pierogis need to be boiled in a single layer else they can get stuck together and the wrapping won’t cook evenly. So you’ll max out at around 12 pierogis in a large home-pot.

If you want to make and serve more, then boil in batches of 12 and spread cooked pierogis on a tray. Once you’ve boiled as much as you want, then drop all of them back into the pot for 30 seconds to reheat before tossing with the butter. Reserve a mugful of the cooking water then drain in a colander.

Large batch butter sauce tossing

For the butter sauce tossing part, you can put in as many pierogis as you can comfortably fit into a large skillet. You could even use a large pot. Just make sure you can toss the pierogis, because that’s how you get a nice coating of butter on them.

Simple method for gigantic batches

If you want to serve all 30 pierogis at the same time, an easy way to sauce them up is to make the sauce separately then douse over the pierogis.

To do this, cook the pierogis per above (ie boil then reheat). Drain well in a colander and transfer into a serving bowl. Melt 70g / 4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter with 1/3 cup of the cooking water in a small pan on medium heat. Simmer for a couple of minutes until the butter thickens (the starch in the pierogi cooking water makes this happen).

Serving pierogis

Cooking part done, it’s time to enjoy them! A dollop of sour cream adds a lovely cooling, tangy creamy touch that pairs so well with cheesy mashed potato (proof – reader favourite Stuffed Baked Potatoes!). And a little sprinkle of parsley or chives adds a nice touch of green to an otherwise very beige plate.

And as a plate of food that is an unapologetic celebration of three of my favourite food groups – butter, cheese and potato – a perky fresh side of greens would be a nice accompaniment. Even this self-confessed Cheese Lovin’ Carb Monster needs something fresh to cut through all that richness! Try a classic light vinaigrette with leafy greens or any steamed vegetables.

Hope you love this as much as we do! Big shout out to our Chef JB for doing much of the leg-work on the research, development and testing on this pierogi recipe, then teaching me and answering my many, many questions. It’s been raining pierogis in our kitchen!!! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Pierogi Ruskies – Polish Dumplings

Recipe video above. Pierogi Ruskie's are Polish dumplings filled with cheesy, creamy mashed potatoes served with an onion butter sauce. They are even more delicious than they sound!

Traditionally made with quark which is an European fresh cheese which isn't easily found in Australia, so I've used cheddar because I want this recipe to be as accessible as possible to many people to experience the greatness that is Pieorgis!!! More in Note 2.

Excellent weekend project – eat some today and freeze some for later (they cook from frozen). Makes a nice big batch of 30 pierogis. For more dumplings of the world – head here!

Course Mains

Cuisine European, polish

Keyword pierogi, pierogi ruskies, polish dumplings

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Resting dough 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Servings 30 pierogis

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Pierogi dough:

• 2 cups flour , plain/all-purpose
• 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 large egg , whisked (55-60g/2oz)

Pierogi filling:

• 500g / 1 lb potatoes , peeled and sliced 1cm / 1/2" thick (2 medium, Note 1)
• 1 tbsp cooking/kosher salt – for cooking potatoes
• 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese , tightly packed cup (Note 2)
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Onion Butter:

• 30g/ 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion , finely diced
• 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt

Cooking and serving:

• 1 tbsp cooking/kosher salt – for boiling water
• 25g/ 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter , per 8 – 10 pierogis (Note 3)
• Sour cream , for serving
• Parsley or chives , finely chopped – just a pinch

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Filling:

• Boil potatoes – Put potato and 1 tbsp salt in a large saucepan. Add cold tap water so it's 3cm/1 inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil on high heat then reduce heat to medium high and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
• Mash – Drain, then pass the potatoes through a potato ricer into a bowl (or use potato masher)
• Cheese it – Immediately add butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon until fully combined.
• Cool – Spread out ~1cm / 1/2" thick on a tray. Cover with cling wrap, pressing so it is fully in contact. Cool on the counter (~30 min) then refrigerate until cold (1 hour+).

Pierogi Dough:

• Melt butter – Heat up the water and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat just until butter is melted, do not boil water. (Or do this in the microwave). Turn off heat.
• Mix dough – Whisk the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and then add the butter water plus egg. Mix to combine into a shaggy dough.
• Knead – Scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth (Note 3). You could also use your stand mixer.
• Rest – Wrap with cling wrap and leave on the counter for 30 minutes.

Wrapping pierogis:

• Roll & cut – On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 3mm / 1/8" thickness. Cut out rounds using a 7.5 cm / 3" cutter. Do as many as you can, then gather surplus dough into a ball, wrap with cling wrap and set aside for later.
• Fill & wrap – Place 1 tablespoon of cheesy potato filling in the middle of a round. Dip finger with water and run along edge of half the circle. Fold dough over to enclose the filling and press to seal, making slight indents (no pleats).
• Wrap remaining – Place them on a lightly floured tray and continue to wrap remaining Pierogi (including rolling out the remaining dough). You should get ~30 pierogis.

Onion butter sauce:

• In a non stick skillet, melt the butter until foamy over medium heat. Add onion and salt, then cook, stirring regularly, for 10 to 15 minutes until golden on the edges. Scrape out into a bowl, then set aside (OK to cool).

Cooking & serving pierogis:

• Batch cooking – Directions below are for cooking and serving 10. Boil pierogis in batches of 10 to 12 max, they need space to bounce around in the water, and you need space to toss them in the butter. (Note 4 for big batch cooking)
• Boil 5 minutes – Bring ~3 litres/quarts of water to the boil with 1 tbsp salt. Lower 10 piergosi into the water. Cook for 5 minutes – they should be floating on the surface.
• Reserve water & drain – Dip a jug into the water and scoop out ~1 cup water. Then use a slotted spoon to transfer pierogi into a bowl (or drain, if not cooking more).
• Butter sauce – Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the onion butter plus the cooked pierogis with 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water. Toss for 1 minute, still on the stove, until the pierogis are coated in the butter. (Note 4 on scaling up)
• Serve – Slide onto a serving plate, scraping out every drop of butter. Sprinkle with parsley, add a dollop of sour cream. Eat and be happy!

Notes

Recipe credits – Primarily adapted from this recipe from New York Times Cooking, with references to a whole bunch of other recipes. The main changes we made were process related.

Serving size – 4 to 5 pierogis with a side salad makes a nice meal. They are pretty rich, actually, being solely comprised of potato, cheese and butter!

1. Potatoes – Use your favourite mashing potatoes. All-rounder and floury / starchy potatoes are best. The most common potatoes stocked at regular stores should be good all-rounders.

Australia – Sebago (common dirt brushed potatoes), Desiree. US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward.

2. Cheese – Traditionally made with quark which is an European fresh cheese which isn’t easily found in Australia. While cottage cheese is probably the closest substitute, I’ve used shredded cheese which, as you can imagine, is a delicious alternative when it’s melted throughout the potato. 

I use cheddar but any good melting cheese you’d happily put in your grilled cheese is fine (tasty, gruyere, Colby). Give mozzarella a miss – doesn’t have enough flavour for this recipe.

3. Kneading – When you first mix the dough in the bowl and form into a ball, the surface is rough and shaggy. It is kneaded enough when the surface of the dough ball is smooth. See video at 1.39.

4. Batch cooking – Don’t boil more than 10 – 12 pierogis max in a large pot because they need room to bounce around. To cook lots, boil 10 – 12 at a time, scoop out and spread on a tray. Boil the next batch. Then just before serving, put them all back into the boiling water for 30 seconds to warm them back up. Drain, then toss in the butter sauce with a splash of the reserved cooking water.

Butter amount – You’ll need around 1 1/2 tbsp / 25g plus 2 tablespoons of the cooking water for 8 to 10 pierogis. For all 30, you’ll need around 70g / 4 1/2 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup water. You can eyeball it. Butter is not an exact science here!

5. Make ahead – Pierogis freeze 100% perfectly and can be boiled from frozen! Just add an extra 1 – 2 minutes to the cook time. Freeze in single layers in an airtight container. To save space, you can freeze them on a tray then bundle them into an airtight container.

Life of Dozer

Coming to you in real time! This is Dozer today, at a photography studio for a Christmas special edition of Good Food Australia with the A-team: Rob Palmer (photographer), Emma Knowles (food stylist), Theresa Klein (photo chef). Who ever imaged a discount dog would experience such things!!

The post Pierogi – Polish dumplings appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Regular baked spuds are good. Hasselback potatoes are awesome! Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, basted with garlic rosemary olive oil. This is roast potato perfection!

Hasselback potatoes talk

Everybody talks about how tips and tricks to avoid accidentally cutting the way through (easy – chopsticks or spatula on either side of the potato!). Why doesn’t anyone talk about the other things that matter for hasselback success?? Namely:

1. Fanning is key! For good hasselback potatoes, you need the slices to fan out as they bake so you can drip salty oil/fat between the slices and crispy edges. Without fanning, you end up with regular old roast spuds!

2. For fanning, you need thin slices (2mm is ideal), to cut down far enough (1cm / 0.4″ from base) and oval shaped potatoes work better than round ones. If you don’t cut down far enough, you will not get fanning! And thick slices don’t fan as well as thin slices (you can see in my photos the thin ones fan out more).

3. Basting is also key. Baste, baste, baste to encourage fanning (dragging the brush across the surface helps separate the slices) and to drip tasty salted oil between the potato slices.

And with that, let’s get onto what you want to know – how to make great hasselback potatoes!

What you need

You really only need potatoes, oil and salt to make hasselback potatoes. Garlic and rosemary are optional, but they do infuse the oil with lovely flavour that gets brushed onto the potato.

• Potato type – All-rounder and floury / starchy potatoes are best. The most common potatoes at regular stores will be fine – they’re stocked because they’re great all-rounders.

  Australia – Sebago (the dirt brushed potatoes sold everywhere) are perfect, Desiree are great too. US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward.

  Waxy potatoes do work, but the cut surface gets kind of slippery which doesn’t really appeal to me.

• Potato size and shape – Look for potatoes around 250g/8oz that are a nice even oval shape rather than round. These will fan out better to allow the oil and salt to drip between the slices.

  If the potatoes are too small (like baby potatoes) then the inside will get too soft before the edges crisp up. And while in theory, you can make much larger ones, it will be a little harder to get the inside cooked without the edges of the thin slices burning.

• Garlic and rosemary are optional. These infuse the oil with a little flavour which is then brushed onto the potatoes. But the flavour is subtle.

• Olive oil – You can make hasselback potatoes with any fat, though oils will make the potatoes crisper than butter (because butter contains ~20% water). So if you do want to use some melted butter for brushing, I’d recommend still using olive oil for most of the baking time then use butter towards the end.

The easiest way to cut hasselback potatoes

So here’s a step by step of my easy way to cut hasselback potatoes – by using a spatula or chopsticks which makes it impossible to accidentally cut all the way through. But, as noted above, it’s also important to ensure you cut through enough, to allow the potatoes to fan out. So make sure your spatula / chopstick is no thicker than 1cm / 0.4″!

1. Stable base – Firstly, cut a thin slice off the base so the potato will sit flat and stable.

2. Cutting guide – Place the potato between the hands of 2 spatulas or chopsticks (or similar), no thicker than 1cm / 0.4″.

3. In action! See? See how the spatula stops the knife from cutting all the way through? Perfect!

   Slice THINLY – Aim for 2mm slices. Thin slices = fans out when baking = crispy edges and getting oil / salt between the slices! (Cutting through far enough is also key to this).

4. Hasselbacked – Here it is! Run your fingers across the surface and admire your handiwork!

Wonky cuts? Accidentally cut all the way through? Who cares! It’s still going to be delicious – and still going to trump regular plain boring roast spuds.

Baking hasselback potatoes

Cutting part done – time to bake. This part is easy, but the basting steps are critical!

1. Rub with a little oil (just 1 1/2 teaspoons shared between all 5) then salt. Not much at this stage!

2. Bake 1 – Bake at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) for 30 minutes. This first bake is to get the potato slices to start opening up so we can get salt and oil in between.

3. Oil & salt – Then pour 1/4 cup olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt. Only so much will fall between the slices at this stage, we will coax more flavour in when we baste!

4. Bake 2 – Return to the oven with the garlic and the rosemary for a further 40 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through, basting with the oil on the tray every 10 minutes (see below). The bake time will be shorter if you use smaller potatoes (I use 250g/8oz).

5. Basting – For the basting, squidge a brush into the oil on the tray.

6. Brush with intention! Then drag the brush across the surface of the potato, using a little pressure to coax the potato slices apart so salty oil drips down between the slices. Basting is key for hasselback awesomeness, so don’t shortcut this step!

7. Golden crispness! Crank up the oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C). Then return the potatoes into the oven or a further 10 to 15 minutes to make them extra golden and crispy on the edges.

8. Sprinkle with a little salt flakes if you want (I want!) then devour while hot and crispy.

And with that, I have imparted all my hasselback making learnings to you.

Serve while hot and crispy, with a sprinkle of salt flakes and some fresh rosemary sprigs for decoration, if so desired. And while leftovers will keep for a few days, there really is nothing like hasselbacks fresh out of the oven! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Accidentally threw the garlic and rosemary onto the tray at the beginning instead of partway through! Best to add at the 30 minute mark, otherwise they get very, very toasted. (aka. burnt)

Print

Hasselback potatoes

Recipe video above. Soft on the inside and crispy on the edges, brushed with garlic rosemary olive oil! Hasselback success relies on thin slices so they fan out as they bake, allowing oil and salt to drip in between with crispy edges. Otherwise, they end up like regular roast spuds!

Making sure you cut through enough and using oval shaped spuds also help to ensure they fan out properly.

Worried about your knife skills? Don't! So what if your slices are irregular or a little too thick? Wonky hasselbacks still trump regular roast spuds every day of the week.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine swedish, Western

Keyword hasselback potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 5 – 6

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 5 – 6 x 250g / 8oz potatoes , oval shaped regular or floury, scrubbed clean (Aus: Sebago (dirt brushed), desiree, US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward, Note 1)
• 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Basting:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (Note 2)
• 4 garlic cloves , skin on, smashed (optional) (Note 3)
• 3 rosemary sprigs (optional but recommended) (Note 3)

Instructions

Shortform recipe:

• Hasselback slice 2mm thick. Rub/sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt.
• Bake 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) for 30 min. Pour over oil, sprinkle with salt, throw garlic and rosemary on tray. Bake further 40 min, basting generously every 10 min (getting oil between slices key), until cooked. Crank up to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan), baste, bake 10 – 15 min until extra golden.

Full recipe:

• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan-forced).
• Cut prep – Cut a thin slice off the base of a potato to make it sit flat while cutting. Place the potato between 2 wooden spatulas or chopsticks (no thicker than 1cm / 0.4" – Note 4), to make it impossible for you to accidentally cut all the way through!
• THIN slices – Cut the potato into very thin slices, aiming for 2 mm. The cuts on the edges of the potato can be slightly thicker as the edges bake up crisper. (Note 4 for tips)
• Rub – Drizzle each potato the 1 1/2 tsp oil then sprinkle/rub with the 1/4 tsp salt (ie share across all).

Baking:

• Bake 1 – Place the potatoes on a tray. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven.
• Baste 1 – The potato slices should be slightly less "stuck" together at this stage. Pour the 1/4 cup olive oil over the potatoes then sprinkle the salt evenly over. The salt gets spread later, so don't worry if it looks like a lot! Throw the garlic and rosemary on the tray.
• Baking/basting – Bake the potatoes for another 40 minutes, basting with the oil on the tray every 10 minutes. Brush with a bit of pressure across the surface of the potatoes to encourage the oil and salt to drip down. Once oil gets between the slices, they will fan out more and more.
• CRISP IT! – Once the potatoes are soft in the centre (check with knife), turn the oven UP to 220°C/425°F (200°C). Baste the potatoes again then bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the edges are nice and golden. I am quite bold with this step, many others do not seek as much crispy edges.
• Serve immediately while hot and the edges are crispy! Peeling off those end bits are the BEST.

Notes

1. Potatoes – All-rounder and floury / starchy potatoes are best. The most common potatoes at regular stores will be fine – they’re stocked because they’re great all-rounders. Oval shape fans out better than round ones.

Australia – Sebago (the dirt brushed potatoes sold everywhere) are perfect, Desiree are great too. US: Yukon Gold, russet, UK: Maris piper, King Edward.

2. Salt – it will look like a lot when you sprinkle but it gets spread when basting, all over the potato and between the slices. 

3. Smash garlic by putting side of knife against it and hitting with palm of hand to make it burst open but mostly hold together. Releases garlic flavour into oil without ending up with lots of burnt black bits.

No herbs? Still worth making as the flavour is subtle. Thyme or sage would also work well. But, use fresh! Little bits of dry herbs will just burn.

4. Hasselback success relies on thin slices so they fan out more as they bake so salty oil drips down between the slices and you get crispy edges. Ensuring you cut through enough also factors into this (hence why I say the spatula / chopstick should not be thicker than 1cm / 0.4″).

But don’t fret if you are struggling! You can coax them open when basting – just apply a little pressure as you brush across the top and it will coax them open slightly. Last resort – use a butter knife to pry them open. Once a little oil gets between two slices of potato, it prevents them from sticking together again.

5. Leftovers will keep for 3 days but they will not be like the golden crispy masterpiece that you pulled hot out of the oven.

6. Nutrition per serving, takes into account an estimation of the oil remaining on the tray.

Life of Dozer

12 month anniversary of Dinner. What a ride it’s been! Thank you for being a part of it. None of this would have been possible without you! – Nagi & Dozer x

(PS Yes that’s a smear of flour on the side of my face. OF COURSE.)

And the only thing Dozer cares about is whether there’s anything edible in this enormous, most obnoxious bunch of flowers my publisher Pan Macmillan sent me to celebrate the day!!

The post Hasselback potatoes appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This is my everyday roast potatoes recipe. I use baby potatoes so it’s quick prep (no peeling). Great garlic-thyme flavour. Fresh herbs really are lovely, though dried can be used in a pinch! Don’t make the mistake of using minced garlic. It burns!

My everyday roast potatoes

I have a recipe for devilishly good crispy roast potatoes. They are the roast potatoes everybody dreams about, with a thick craggy crust that stays crispy for ages.

But they are not Monday night potatoes. They are reserved for when I’m out to impress.

Today’s roast potato recipe is what I make in my day to day life. Low effort yet utterly delicious, with a lovely golden outsides, soft insides, infused with beautiful garlic-thyme flavours.

Serve with everything!

What you need

Here’s what you need:

• Potatoes – Use any small potatoes that can be cooked with the skin on. Baby potatoes, cocktail potatoes, new potatoes, red potatoes, creamer potatoes!

  My ideal potato size is ~ 4cm/1.6″ which is a nice (big) bite size once cut in half. Half is ideal because there’s only one cut face to make golden (remember, this is my easy roast potatoes recipe!). If it’s much larger, cut into 3 pieces but just be mindful that you won’t get a very good golden colour on more than one cut face.

• Garlic – Whole, unpeeled, with the skin on. We’re going to smash them with the side of our knife to make them burst open but remain (mostly) in one piece. Why not use minced garlic? Because it burns. And burnt garlic is bitter. Not pleasant!

  You will be surprised how much garlic flavour is imparted from smashed garlic. Your house will smell amazing.

• Thyme or rosemary sprigs – Thyme is my default but rosemary is also lovely. If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use dried. But toss it in halfway through the roasting time, else it will burn.

• Olive oil – Just your everyday cooking oil. No need to crank out the good stuff, reserve that for salad dressings!

Potato roasting words of wisdom

• It really does take an hour. Don’t shortcut it. Nobody likes underdone potatoes!

• Only toss once – the potatoes need undisturbed time to go golden.

• If your potatoes are stuck, don’t force them and rip the crust off! They will loosen naturally when ready.

• You can use baking paper if you want…..but full contact with metal gives the best colour and crispiness!

How to make easy roast potatoes

1. Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. I just do this on the tray, because why create more washing up? Then toss through garlic and thyme.

2. Roast for 30 minutes at 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan-forced).

3. Toss – Remove from oven, then toss. If any are stuck, leave them. They will release when ready!

   PRO TIP: Arrange the less golden cut sides facedown on the tray as they will get the best colour during the 2nd baking time.

4. Roast for a further 25 to 35 minutes. Toss again then pile onto serving plate and serve!

I don’t need to tell you what to serve with roast potatoes.

But what I do want to tell you is what I do with leftovers! I find roast potatoes get a bit sad and soggy when left overnight in the fridge. So I like to transform them into stovetop crispy smashed potatoes. Just lightly press down on the potatoes to flatten slightly (but still stay in once piece) using a glass, your hand or a spatula. Then pan fry in a little oil until golden and crisp.

HOW GOOD DO THESE LOOK???

Frankly, it’s worth making a batch of these roast potatoes just so you can do the smashed potatoes!! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Easy roast potatoes

Recipe video above. This is my everyday roast potatoes recipe. No-nonsense, quick to prep, with great garlic-thyme flavour. Fresh herbs are lovely, though dried can be used in a pinch. Don't make the mistake of using minced garlic. It burns!

Serve with everything.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Western

Keyword Baby potatoes, new potatoes, roast potatoes

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 5 – 6 as a side

Calories 255cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1 kg/ 2 lb baby potatoes or other small potatoes, halved (Note 1)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 5 garlic cloves with skin on , smashed (Note 2)
• 5 thyme sprigs or 3 rosemary sprigs (Note 3 for dried herbs)

Optional garnish

• Finely chopped parsley or fresh thyme (optional)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan).
• Smashed garlic – Place side of knife on unpeeled garlic clove. Hit firmly with palm of hand so the garlic bursts open a bit but mostly stays in tact.
• Toss – Put potatoes on a tray and push together. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Toss through thyme and garlic. Spread out on tray.
• Roast 1 hour – Roast for 30 minutes. Toss. Roast for a further 25 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden. (Note 4 for stuck potatoes & golden TIPS!)
• Serve – Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve immediately!

Notes

1. Potatoes – Ideal potato size ~ 4cm/1.6″. Use any small potatoes that can be cooked with the skin on. Baby potatoes, cocktail potatoes, new potatoes, red potatoes, creamer potatoes! Cut larger ones into 3 or 4 so they are all roughly the same size (shape doesn’t matter).

2. Smashed garlic – This method of smashing opening garlic releases garlic flavour into the potatoes as they roast but keeps the garlic whole so it won’t burn like minced garlic does.

3. Dried herbs (thyme, rosemary) can be used if you don’t have fresh. But add them halfway through the roasting time else it will burn. Use 1 tsp or so.

4. TIPS:

• Potatoes stuck? Don’t worry! If some potatoes are adhered to the tray, don’t fret, it means the crust hasn’t formed. Just leave it, rather than ripping the crust off. It will release when ready!
• Golden tip: If you can be bothered, arrange pale sides of potatoes facedown onto the tray for the last 30 minutes. The side of potatoes facedown on the tray will become extra golden.

5. Leftovers will last for 3 days in the fridge but there’s nothing quite like freshly made roast potatoes! I like to revive leftovers but flattening them slightly then pan frying to reheat and make crisp.

Nutrition per serving assuming this serves 5.

Nutrition

Calories: 255cal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 478mg | Potassium: 854mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 119IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg

Life of Dozer

Dozer on a mini break! Staying in a lovely rustic converted church near the Colo River, only 90 minutes from home. So close – yet feels so far! Wait until you see the kitchen. #goals

The post Easy Roast Potatoes appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.