 variety of potatoes. They have a very cute, narrow shape. The flesh is firm and yellow. They are not too starchy like Russet potatoes. I love roasting them and serving them as appetizers. It\'s a perfect bite-sized amuse-bouche, which literally means "playful in the mouth" in French. They will be a hit at your next fancy dinner party. "Pin It")
Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes in Thyme and Butter
Fingerling potatoes are a small (probably the smallest) variety of potatoes. They have a very cute, narrow shape. The flesh is firm and yellow. They are not too starchy like Russet potatoes. I love roasting them and serving them as appetizers. It's a perfect bite-sized amuse-bouche, which literally means "playful in the mouth" in French. They will be a hit at your next fancy dinner party.
Ingredients
Yields: 4
20 to 25 fingerling potatoes, about 1-1/2 lbs2 Tbs olive oil, + extra for greasing the baking dish
3 Tbs unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp sea salt
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 sprig thyme, stemmed, finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons)
2 Tbs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1-1/2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp white peppercorns, freshly ground
Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the butter and about 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. Cook the garlic until it is slightly golden. Remove the garlic and set aside.
In the same saucepan, add the fingerling potatoes. Coat each potato with the oil/butter mixture. Lower the heat to very low. Cover and let it cook for about 10-12 minutes. Toss occasionally. Bring the heat back to medium. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, thyme and 1 tablespoon of flat-leaf parsley; wait 2 minutes until the garlic is translucent and starts sticking to each potato. Drizzle the lemon juice over the potatoes.
Immediately transfer to a greased baking dish. Cover with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place into the hot oven and roast for about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 2-3 minutes to get the garlic very fragrant and golden. The fingerling potatoes should be fork-tender. Remove from the oven. Garnish with the remaining flat-leaf parsley. Toss well.
You can serve the fingerling potatoes with a steak, a roasted chicken or as an appetizer with a garlic chive-flavored goat cheese dip (check the tip section below).
Bon appétit!
Tips
For the garlic chive-flavored goat cheese dip: In a small bowl, soften 5.3 oz of garlic-flavored goat cheese with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Add about a tablespoon of finely snipped garlic chives (I get them from my herb garden). Transfer to a deep dipping bowl. Sprinkle additional garlic chives for decoration. Voilà!
Summer days are almost here. Another idea is to use your barbeque grill. Place all the fingerling potatoes in a vegetable basket. Cover with heavy duty aluminum foil or (if you don't own a vegetable basket) wrap the potatoes in a sheet of aluminum foil, papillote-style. Place on the grill and let it cook for about 20 minutes. The exact term used is called "en papillote". The material used in general is parchment paper but for the barbeque, I used aluminum foil because I didn't want the wax paper catching on fire.
You can substitute with baby Yukon gold potatoes but the cooking time might take a little longer, depending on the size of the potato. Check doneness with a fork.
