Dinner Tonight: Braised Potatoes with Garlic
This is the first recipe in Molly Stevens's enormous All About Braising book and it's also possibly the simplest and quickest one. Most braised dishes take hours to make tough cuts toothsome, but if you're only messing around with vegetables, that time is reduced drastically. This one: less than thirty minutes. And it couldn't be much simpler: cut up potatoes, toss them in a pot with chicken stock, garlic, and olive oil, and cook.
Of course it's a little more complicated than that. Instead of creating a potato soup, the chicken stock reduces down to a syrup, coating every potato in a meaty glaze. The garlic cloves break down until they dissolve in the sauce. I added some freshly chopped rosemary at the end for a little fresh herb kick, but that's it. Not exactly a succulent feast, but a delicious side for those that don't want to wait for the oven to warm up for roasting.
About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is a freelance writer in Chicago. He is the co-founder of The Paupered Chef and spends most of his time playing with the new cooking gadgets he got from his wedding.
Braised Potatoes with Garlic
- serves 2 to 3 -
Adapted from All About Braising by Molly Stevens
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, rinsed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper
Procedure
1. Cut the potatoes in half and then place them into a pot where they will fit in a snug, single layer. Pour in the olive oil and the chicken stock. Add the garlic cloves, and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Cover the pot and bring the stock to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the lid, turn the heat to high, and cook until the liquid reduces, becomes thick, and starts to coat the potatoes. Stir occasionally. Plate the potatoes, and sprinkle with the chopped rosemary. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
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9 Comments:
so where do the garlic cloves fit in? toss them in in the beginning?
sarahlucy at 5:05PM on 10/22/08
i was just gonna ask the same question....
dozertx at 5:41PM on 10/22/08
Nick says to add them to the pot of potatoes in the first step. Thanks for the catch!
Erin Zimmer at 5:56PM on 10/22/08
Sounds YUMMY
muchcat at 8:07PM on 10/22/08
Can't wait to make this!
Tonecat at 9:43PM on 10/22/08
I have got to try this! It sounds and looks wonderful. Hubby doesn't like rice or noodles very much, so I cook potatoes a lot and am always looking for something different to do with them.
Dragonspearls at 11:46AM on 10/23/08
Mmmm, this looks fantastic! And so easy, too!
elle239 at 10:24AM on 10/29/08
These sound delicious and look beautiful! I might consider adding a sprig of rosemary to the pot at the beginning to boost its effect on the potatoes. I think I would also bash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife [without breaking them up completely], so they would give up more of their oils and flavor.
BlueKitchen at 11:27AM on 10/29/08
All About Braising is one of my favorite cookbooks, and I highly recommend it to everyone. The recipe does call for the peeled and bruised cloves of garlic to be added along with the potatoes. Molly Stevens's original recipe calls for two bay leaves torn in half to be tossed in with the taters and garlic, and her variation that includes rosemary omits the bay leaves and substitutes two sprigs tossed in and cooked with everything else. (That sounds better to me than having raw rosemary sprinkles. Maybe cooking the sprigs and then chopping up some of the leaves for garnish would be best?) Another of her variations is to use three tablespoons of butter instead of olive oil....sounds yummy. I'm not so sure about her suggestion to try substituting a cup of dry white wine for the cup of chicken stock, though.
dholway at 12:56PM on 10/29/08