Pommes De Terre De Hollande

I’ve been making these for about ten years – since I first saw the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Crunchy on the outside, buttery-soft melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. If you are meandering through the supermarket and I spy mesh bags labeled ‘Baby Dutch Potatoes’ grab a bag or two and make this recipe.

Ingredients

2 pounds baby Dutch potatoes (I think they are actually Yukon Golds)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Peel the potatoes. Add 2 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon oil to a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the butter foam subsides, add the potatoes. Carefully regulate the heat so that the butter is always hot but not turning dark. Let the poatoes cook undisturbed for about two minutes. Notice that the under side of each potato has acquired a beautiful pale golden color. Turn them. You want to achieve that color or as much of each potato’s surface as possible. Turning them once or twice should do the trick.

Lower the heat, cover the skillet, and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes, shaking them every 3 – 4 minutes to prevent sticking. When you can pierce them easily with a fork they are done.

Soften 2 tablespoons butter in the microwave. Take the poatoes off the heat and pour off any liquid. Add the butter and parsley. Toss and serve.