Fondant Potatoes
I got this recipe from a bartender in an Irish pub in Manhattan. He was a chef in Ireland. He said some cooks add garlic and rosemary to the recipe but he preferred it “plain” and that’s the way I made it. Fondant potatoes go well with any kind of roast meat – beef, chicken, lamb, etc.
Ingredients:
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3 or 4 russet potatoes
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salt & black pepper
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4 tbsps. vegetable oil
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4 tbsps. butter
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Rosemary sprigs (optional)
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Garlic (optional)
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1 cup chicken broth
Preheat oven to 450° F.
Cut the rounded ends off the potatoes so they’ll stand upright. Slice the skin off the sides with a sharp knife, leaving ridges. Then cut them in half leaving 2 cylinders about 2 inches high.
Soak in cold water for 5 minutes to remove some of the surface starch and dry them well. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in an oven proof skillet. Add the potatoes flat side down and cook until the bottoms are brown. Turn the potatoes to the other flat side and pour off the oil (careful – that oil is hot). 
Bring the pan back to medium heat and add the butter. (If you’re using garlic and rosemary, add it now.) Leave it on the burner until the butter starts to brown. Pour in the chicken stock and place the pan in the oven. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes, let them cool a bit and serve.
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