French-Style Brown Butter New Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces; 113g, cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 lb small new potatoes (450g, rinsed; look for uniform, bite-size spuds)
• Kosher or sea salt (to taste)
• freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves (optional)
• chives (sliced, for serving)
• 0.5 cup crème fraîche (for serving/dipping)

Steps

1. 1

   In a medium (3-quart) saucepan or saucier, melt the butter over medium heat.

2. 2

   Add the rinsed potatoes, a healthy pinch of salt, and pepper to taste.

3. 3

   Cook, swirling the saucepan and stirring frequently with a heat-resistant spatula while the butter hisses and pops. Make sure potatoes remain in a single, even layer in the saucepan while cooking.

4. 4

   Continue cooking and stirring until the butter begins to foam rapidly and turns golden yellow, about 5 to 8 minutes.

5. 5

   Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the herbs and garlic (if using).

6. 6

   Continue stirring and turning the potatoes occasionally to promote even browning. At this point, the butter should be golden brown.

7. 7

   Regulate the heat so the butter simmers at a very gentle bubble and foams up when you stir it. Depending on the strength of your burner, you may need to reduce the heat from medium-low to low.

8. 8

   Continue cooking until the potatoes are completely tender (test by poking a potato with a sharp paring knife or cake tester) and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes.

9. 9

   Remove from the heat and let the potatoes rest for 5 minutes in the saucepan.

10. 10

    Toss the potatoes to coat them thoroughly in the brown butter.

11. 11

    Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl, reserving the brown butter in the pan.

12. 12

    Drizzle as much of the reserved brown butter as you like over the potatoes and sprinkle with chives and additional sea salt to taste.

13. 13

    Serve immediately with crème fraîche on the side for dipping.

Notes

Use the smallest new potatoes you can find for uniform cooking. This dish pairs excellently with steak or seared fish, and the leftover brown butter can be used as a sauce for the protein as well. For the best results, use high-quality butter and finish with a crunchy salt like fleur de sel.

Nutrition per serving

• side dish
• vegetarian
• French
• potatoes
• brown butter
• slow-cooked