Downscaling. Fake chicken stock. Anchovies.

North 4 or 5, backing south 5 or 6, veering west later.

Slight or moderate. Showers later. Good.

Hasselback fondant potatoes

There is something about potatoes which gives comfort like no other crop. In fact, I can’t think of one potato dish I don’t like. Okay, I am not that fond of latkes but I suspect I never ate them well done (note to myself to give it a go one day).

My favourite potato dish is probably Hasselback potatoes. A standard recipe can be found here from Nigella Lawson, do try them, they are very good. But as a main it is not really enough. Something is missing.

Cue Hasselback fondant potatoes, courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi. Potatoes! Cream! Anchovies! A kind of love child between Hasselbacks and Jansson's temptation (Janssons frestelse= A Swedish dish).

Now, if you are not that fond of fish, don’t close the browser. Anchovies are fish but not fish. At least in a different dish. It takes some time of get your head around and courage to cook with it, but you will be rewarded with a taste like no other. Rich, salty, full, not at all fishy.

So potatoes and cream and anchovies promise a satisfying meat free dish.

Well, it does if you have any idea how to downscale. Some items can be easily divided. Like 12 potatoes serves 4, makes 3 per person. But this is a side dish, not a main. Are 5 enough? Or 4? How about the stock? Will 62.5 ml be enough (12 potatoes asked for 150ml, so 5 are 150ml/12x5). Do I really have to weigh all of that or shall I give it a rough go? Shall I be bold and go for 1.5 anchovies or is 1.3 better? I am already a bit overwhelmed.

It gets better. The original asks for chicken stock. I don’t like chicken stock. The problem with vegetable stock is that it misses the Umami roundness; many out there are a bit sour. But vegetable stock is a start. Reducing it. Still not better. Rummaging through my fridge I discover a still sealed Korean Doenjang paste. What the hell is that and why did I buy it in the first place??? Since my Korean is not perfect, google needs to provide the answer. A fermented soybean paste, a bit like miso. You can probably use white miso. In it goes. No risk, no fun. Not bad, but not there yet, still too sour. Hang on, sour? Add sugar. Nearly perfect. But it still needs a bit of body.Years ago I discovered in an Italian deli a mushroom stockcube. The company is called star and it looks like this. Due to the influx of Polish food you will find it also in Polish shops, here is the Polish version (you don’t need to attempt to pronounce it). A small crumb goes in.  Perfect enough. Actually so perfect that I dance around happy and could not care less if I use 4 or 5 potatoes.

Lets see how it works out.

My only bugbear with potato recipes is that very few chefs tell you which potato to buy. There are some exceptions. The rest is guessing. And supermarket descriptions are often not very helpful. I know that the first method is the one which gives the best results, so if it says: Perfect for baking, mashing, roasting, steaming...don’t steam them. There are better out there for that purpose. But what if there is no description?

Today I used Corolle potatoes. Corolle is sweet, nutty, creamy, with a beautifully firm texture. YO suggested Charlotte or New potatoes, so firm ones. And before we come to the recipe and verdict, a little trick. You need to cut the potatoes in a fan shape, but they should be still attached to the bottom. Imagine cutting several slices ¾ through without going all the way. Nigella suggests using a spoon, but I did not have great success with it. So I use chopsticks. The potato is placed between them, cut, and the knife stops automatically at the sticks (see photo above). Furthermore I dumped the cut potatoes into a bowl with cold, salted water. This helps them open and gets rid of the starch.

Finally, the recipe:

Hasselback fondant potatoes

Serves one.

about 5 small potatoes=350gr

30g unsalted butter

Salt and black pepper

100ml double cream

80ml stock (see above)

1 garlic clove

1 anchovy and a bit of the tail of another, finely chopped

1 tsp of grated lemon zest

1 sprig rosemary

finely grated parmesan to cover them all, about 10gr

3 sprigs of thyme

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6.

Use a small knife to cut widthways incisions across each potato about 0.5cm apart and going three-quarters of the way through the potato, so it stays in one piece. Works best if you lay the potato between two chopsticks and cut to the rim.

Put the butter in a large, ovenproof saute pan and place on a low heat. Once it starts to foam, add the potatoes cut side up and a sprinkle of salt on top (next time Aldi sells the Himalayan pink salt mill go and get it, it`s bloody gorgeous). Fry gently for 20 minutes, basting throughout, turn the potatoes until they are nearly cooked and golden-brown all over. You want the incisions in the potatoes to open up, so use your spoon to help prise them apart. Remove the potatoes and wipe the pan clean.

In the meantime put your garlic, anchovies a, lemon zest and rosemary into your pestle and mortar. If you don’t have one, get one. Or get frustrated by cutting everything very fine. Pound until it is a paste (takes a few seconds and yields about half a teaspoon)

Return the potatoes to the pan cut side up, add the cream, and the paste, a sprinkle of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes, basting the potatoes as they cook. Take the pan off the heat. sprinkle over the parmesan and thyme, then roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through, golden-brown all over and the cream is bubbling. Serve at once.

With a green salad tossed in a sharp Dijon vinaigrette.

Verdict:

Gorgeous. Do resist the temptation to add more salt to the cream before you add the cheese. You are walking a very fine line here. I might have used a bit too much salt. After 3 potatoes I had enough. Rule of thumb: you can always add salt at the table but you cant take it away.