Fondant Potatoes
Here’s how to make restaurant style fondant potatoes! These French potatoes are cooked in plenty of garlic & herbs and are melt in your mouth tender.
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These restaurant style fondant potatoes make an impressive side dish but are actually really easy to prepare! To make our fondants, we’re going to be pan frying cylinders of potatoes so that they’re crisp & golden then braising them in plenty of butter, chicken stock, fresh herbs & garlic, until tender.
To finish our fondants, we’re making a sauce with any un soaked butter & stock, which we’re going to use to baste our potatoes, giving them an extra hit of flavour & a fantastic glaze! This finishing step only takes a couple of minutes to do but it really does bring these spuds to another level.
What Are Fondant Potatoes?
Fondant potatoes (also called melting potatoes), are a classic French dish where potatoes are cut into cylinders, seared on each side then cooked in butter (lots of it!), stock, garlic & herbs. Once cooked, these potatoes are golden & glazed on the outside and soft & fluffy on the inside. They practically melt in your mouth!
For more sides, take a look at our ever growing collection of side dish recipes! There’s lots to choose from here, from homemade chips, roast potatoes, cornbread, mozzarella sticks, slaws & loads more…
What You’ll Need
- Potatoes – Floury potatoes are best for fondants. I used Maris Pipers but Russets & King Edwards would also work well.
- Butter – I’d recommend using unsalted butter for these fondant potatoes as it gives us more control on how our potatoes are seasoned.
- Chicken Stock – Chicken stock gives our potatoes a rich, deep flavour however veg stock will work as well. You could use a homemade stock or a stock pot/cube dissolved in boiling water.
- Fresh Herbs – Fresh rosemary & thyme work best with potatoes. You’ll need a few sprigs of each.
- Garlic – You can make your potatoes as garlicky as you like! For 6 potatoes, I used 4 cloves of garlic which I peeled then crushed with the side of a knife.
How To Make Fondant Potatoes
The full, printable recipe card for these potatoes can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
1. Cutting The Potatoes
Before cooking the fondants, we need to cut our potatoes into 3-4 cm thick cylinders/rounds. There’s a couple of ways to do this; you can either use a circular cutter for more uniform, restaurant style fondants or you can simply cut your potatoes in half to make rustic fondants.
For both methods of cutting fondant potatoes, you’ll need to start by peeling your potatoes with a veg peeler. If your potatoes haven’t been washed, give them a good rinse under cold water before & after peeling.
Restaurant Style – With A Cutter
If you’re after perfectly round fondant potatoes, this is the method to use! Here, you’ll need a circular cutter (I use a 7cm one) & a sharp knife. Any potato trimmings can be used for mash, hash browns or rosti.
- Use a sharp knife to trim the 2 longer sides of your potato, so that there’s a flat surface on each side (the potato should be 3-4 cm thick). Try to cut your potato in one smooth motion, for perfectly flat surfaces.
- Next, use a circular cutter to cut out a perfectly round fondant from the centre of the potato.
- Finally, round the top & bottom edges off with a veg peeler (this prevents the sharp edges from over cooking).
Rustic (But Still Delicious!) – Without A Cutter
If you haven’t got a round cutter, your fondants can be cut out with a knife instead. This method makes more rustic fondant potatoes & you’ll yield more fondants per potato. With an average sized potato, you’ll get 2 fondants, if bigger you’ll get one or two extra.
- Using a sharp knife, slice each end off the potato.
- Cut your potato in half widthways to make 2 discs of potato that are 3-4 cm thick.
- Round off the top & bottom edges with a veg peeler.
If you like, you can use a veg peeler to sculpt the sides of the fondant into a more circular shape.
2. Searing
Before searing our fondants, we need to pat them dry with kitchen paper (this helps the potatoes get a proper sear). Then we set a large frying pan/skillet over a medium-high heat, add in 2 tablespoons of veg oil then leave to get hot.
Next we add in the potatoes, presentation side facing down & cook for 5-6 minutes until a deep, golden brown then flip over & cook for another 3-4 minutes (the potatoes will take on more colour after we add in the butter).
The presentation side is the side that will be facing upwards when we serve the fondants.
3. Infusing The Butter
To the pan, we add butter, crushed garlic, rosemary & thyme then we turn the heat down to low, season the potatoes with salt & pepper then let the fat infuse for a couple of minutes. We give the potatoes a baste with the butter at this point as well.
4. Cooking
Next, we pour chicken stock around the potatoes then bake them at 180°c/356°f for 25-30 minutes, basting them with the stock every 10 minutes or so. You’ll know when your potatoes are tender when a skewer slides into the centre with no resistance.
5. To Finish
Once cooked, we transfer the potatoes to a plate, remove the garlic & herbs from the stock then set the pan over a low heat.
Now, we’re going to gently warm the stock, stirring to emulsify & form a sauce (this will only take a minute or two!). We then taste the stock, to check the seasoning, adding salt & pepper as needed. The sauce gets spooned over the potatoes then they’re ready to be served.
Tips & Tricks For Perfect Fondant Potatoes
- Cut your fondants out with a circular cutter, for restaurant quality potatoes.
- Pat the potatoes dry with kitchen paper before cooking, for a better sear.
- Cook your fondant potatoes in a good quality chicken stock, for the best flavour.
- Let the butter, herbs & garlic infuse over a low heat before adding in the stock, for extra flavour.
- Baste your fondant potatoes in the butter & stock as they bake for the best glaze.
- Once your fondants are cooked, emulsify any un soaked butter & stock on the stove, to make a sauce to serve over the potatoes. Make sure to taste this, to check the seasoning.
Serving Suggestions
Fondant potatoes make a fantastic & impressive alternative to roast potatoes on a Sunday roast and at Thanksgiving & Christmas! They’re also great served with grilled steaks, roast chicken, pan fried fish & lots more. In fact, they work with pretty much anything!
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook fondant potatoes on an Aga, use the boiling plate to sear then potatoes then the simmering plate to infuse the fat. Cook the potatoes in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners. Finish the sauce on the boiling plate.
Floury potatoes work best for fondant potatoes. I like to use Maris Pipers but Russets & King Edwards would also work well.
In total, fondant potatoes take around 45 minutes to cook. This includes searing them on the stove then baking them in an oven. I like to make my fondants 7cm wide & 3cm thick, so keep in mind that they’ll take longer to cook if your’s are bigger.
Although fondant potatoes are best served straight away then can be made in advance & stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat the potatoes, bake them at 180°c/356°f with a splash of stock (to keep them from drying out), until piping hot.
No, fondant potatoes don’t need to be soaked before being cooked as we need the starch to thicken the stock into a glaze. Although, if you wanted to prep the potatoes ahead of time, letting them sit in cold water won’t hurt.
If you want to make perfectly round fondant potatoes then you’ll need to use a cutter However, you can make fondants without one but they won’t be as uniform.
Equipment Used
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More Side Dishes To Try!
- Beer Battered Black Pudding Fritters
- Chip Shop Curry Sauce
- Creamy Mustard Butter Beans With Smoked Ham Hock
- Dauphinoise Potatoes
- Pizza Oven Garlic Bread With Burrata
- Rice Krispie Fried Mozzarella Sticks With Hot Honey
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Fondant Potatoes
Equipment
- Large Oven Proof Frying Pan
- Vegetable Peeler
- 7cm Circular Cutter
Ingredients
- 6 Large Maris Piper Potatoes (See Notes)
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 75 g Unsalted Butter
- 4 Garlic Cloves (Peeled & Crushed)
- 6 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- 6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 250 ml Chicken Stock (See Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
Cutting The Potatoes
- With A Cutter – Peel the potatoes then use a sharp knife to trim the 2 longer sides of each one, so that there's a flat surface on each side (the potatoes should be 3-4 cm thick). Use a circular cutter to cut a perfectly round fondant out of the centre of each potato then use a veg peeler to round off the top & bottom edges.I used a 7 cm cutter but feel free to make your fondants slightly bigger or smaller.
- With A Knife – Peel the potatoes then trim each end flat (the shorter sides). Cut each potato in half widthways, to get 2 fondants that are 3-4 cm thick then use a veg peeler to round off the top & bottom edges.You probably won't need as many potatoes to cut out 6 fondants using this method. If your potatoes are bigger, you'll get more than 2 fondants out of each. If they're smaller, you may only get 1.
Cooking
- Set a large oven proof frying pan over a medium-high heat, add in the vegetable oil then leave to heat up for a minute or two.
- Pat the potatoes dry with kitchen paper then carefully add into the hot oil, flat side down.The first side that is seared will be the presentation side, so choose each potatoes' neatest side.
- Cook the potatoes for 5-6 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown then flip over, cook for another 3-4 minutes then add in the butter, garlic & herbs.The second side should be golden brown before we add in the butter.
- Season the potatoes with salt & pepper then turn the heat down to low. Cook for another couple of minutes, to infuse the fat.
- Give the potatoes a baste with the butter, add in the stock then cook in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until tender, basting them with the stock every 10 minutes or so.To check if the potatoes are cooked, give them a poke with a skewer. If it slides in with no resistance, they're ready.
To Finish
- Once cooked, carefully lift the potatoes out of the pan & transfer to a plate. Take the garlic & herbs out of the pan & discard.
- Next, set the pan over a medium heat & cook for a minute or two, stirring to emulsify the butter & stock. Give the sauce a taste to check the seasoning, adding in salt & pepper as needed.
- Spoon the sauce over the potatoes then serve. Alternatively, you can serve the potatoes in the pan, basting them with the sauce.
