Cast iron pot with braised new potatoes inside.
Rating
5 / 5 votes
Comments 6 Comments
Adapted From Alain Ducasse
Photographer Pierre Monetta

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Is there anything more comforting than a bowl full of creamy, tender, buttery braised new potatoes? We think not. The secret to these simple yet astoundingly lovely spuds is to cook ’em in plenty of butter. They’re so good, be prepared for fights to break out at the table over the last one. Seriously. Even in polite company. We’ve seen it happen.–Angie Zoobkoff

Cast iron pot with braised new potatoes inside.

Braised New Potatoes

5 / 5 votes
These braised new potatoes basically take a bath in butter. French style. What results is the exact same rich taste and creamy texture of potatoes roasted with your favorite hunk of meat—but in only 30 minutes and on the stovetop.
David Leite
Print
CourseSides
CuisineFrench
Servings4 servings
Calories381 kcal
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 18 ounces small potatoes
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons canned chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
  • 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 10 1/2 tablespoons (5 1/4 oz) unsalted butter
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

  • Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in a Dutch oven or other wide, deep pan. Place the Dutch oven over medium heat and add the chicken stock, garlic, thyme, butter, and salt to taste.
  • Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil over mediumish heat. Reduce the heat and gently simmer, shaking the pan or stirring the potatoes often, until the potatoes are just tender, 12 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
  • Remove the lid and continue to cook, turning occasionally and keeping an eye on the heat so the butter doesn’t burn, until the potatoes take on browned splotches on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a dish and season with pepper. Devour immediately.
Bistro Cookbook

Adapted From

Bistro: Classic French Comfort Food

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 381 kcalCarbohydrates: 23 gProtein: 3 gFat: 32 gSaturated Fat: 20 gMonounsaturated Fat: 8 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 83 mgSodium: 16 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 1 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2018 Alain Ducasse. Photo © 2018 Pierre Monetta. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Mariana V. M.

These braised new potatoes are going to become a new staple at my house. The final results provided a buttery and creamy potato experience that’s enhanced by the liquid you braise it in.

Angie Zoobkoff

Want really really good potatoes? Like addictively good potatoes? Make these braised new potatoes. And don’t skimp on the butter.

Sarah Heend

These braised new potatoes were deliciously buttery. The insides were lusciously creamy and there were crispy patches on the outsides.

I used small yellow potatoes but I think the recipe would work with any small potatoes—the smaller the better. We didn’t feel the need to add any of the cooking liquid to the potatoes for serving, so I was left with about 1/2 cup of chicken-flavored butter. I saved the butter to use in a rice casserole or another recipe—it was too good to let it go to waste.

I will be making these again, though I may increase the amounts so we have leftovers for the next day.

I thought we would want to mash the garlic and spread it on the finished potatoes, but we thought they already had enough garlic flavor. I used the garlic later in the week in pasta sauce. I didn’t have homemade chicken stock on hand, but I did have the juices leftover from roasting a chicken. They gave the potatoes a nice chicken flavor.

Mardi Michels

Wow. I was really dubious about this recipe. Braising potatoes in butter and water? But they turned out really, really well. So easy and a quicker way to prepare potatoes to go with a roast chicken if your oven is too small to roast the potatoes at the same time. Loved this!

I didn’t peel the garlic and removed it at the end and squeezed it out and served it with our roast chicken dinner. Keep an eye on the pan as the butter got quite hot and was on the verge of burning a little towards the end.

Irene Seales

A lovely and easy stovetop braise that results in potatoes as delicious as those cooked for hours in the same pan as a roast. The result is deliciously golden potatoes, the kind you might have fought over as a kid on Sunday dinners at the end of the night. Made with thin skinned, new potatoes, I think this is a really special treatment.

I chose new fingerling potatoes, homemade chicken stock (a good reward for remembering to freeze in ice cube portions), and a mix of unsalted and salted butter.

Since winter has killed off my fresh thyme, I used a generous 1/2 teaspoon dried French thyme. Everything came to a boil over medium-low heat in 5 minutes. I gave it 10 minutes before a fork test, and since they were still a bit firm, I continued cooking with the lid for another 5, then they were beginning to brown and get that nice roasted wrinkle in the thin skins. I continued with the lid off for less than 5 minutes, rotating the potatoes to get them evenly browned on all sides. I gave a few grinds of fresh black pepper and then plated them with chicken breasts that I had roasted with lemon and oregano. I served only half the potatoes and, with some effort and discipline, reserved the remainder for weekend brunch.

There is some leftover clarified butter, which will have evaporated the stock and browned. I strained that and refrigerated it as a thyme-scented brown butter ghee and used it for cooking eggs and a nice breakfast hash with the remaining potatoes the next day. I liked that this satisfying roasted finish is something you can do stovetop, reminiscent of Sunday dinners, potatoes long roasted with carrots and celery alongside a chicken or beef roast, but these are finished in under a half hour!

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About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. I’m the author of The New Portuguese Table and Notes on a Banana. For more than 25 years, I’ve been developing and testing recipes for my site, my books, and publications. My work has also appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and more. I’m also a cooking teacher, memoirist, and inveterate cat lady.

Read More About Me
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6 Comments

    1. Sure, Staci. When you break apart a head of garlic, each clove is covered in a papery skin. Just pop two of those cloves in their skins into the pot and you’re set.

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    You had me at “a bath in butter.” ☺️ These potatoes are delightful, and the recipe consistently delivers. I double the batch to have leftovers to pan fry as breakfast potatoes. I otherwise eat (relatively) healthily, saving splurges for pure delights like this.

    Reply

    1. MontanaMom, I’m so glad you’re loving the recipe and doubling it is such a smart move—leftovers that turn into breakfast potatoes? Um, YES, please! I love that you balance your healthy eating with splurges like these; it’s all about enjoying life’s little delights. Thanks for sharing your experience, and I hope these potatoes continue to delight.

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    Don’t know why, but I’m a bit of a potato phobic. Not anymore! I used baby Yukon Gold potatoes and a bit less butter, but otherwise, stuck to the recipe. Terrific instructions, easy to prepare and a wonderful outcome. Thanks!

    Reply