CINDERELLA POTATOES
Pommes cendrillonPommes Cendrillon (Cinderella Potatoes) is a recipe from famous French chef Roger Verge, who was known for his simple and balanced garden fresh recipes. I guess this dish is haute cuisines' answer to the humble jacket potato. This side dish makes a great accompaniment to grilled meat.
INGREDIENTS
2 large top quality floury potatoes (bintje is good) around 250 g (8.8 oz) each
30 g (1 oz) butter
3 or 4 tbsp pure cream (heavy cream)
1 tbsp egg yolk (half an egg yolk)
1 heaped tbsp grated cheese
1 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
1 tbsp chives (finely chopped)
Salt to season
Pepper (optional)
A grating of nutmeg
Cooking time and temperature: 200 Celsius (around 400 Fahrenheit) for around 1 hour or until fully cooked
Notes
For best results with this recipe the potatoes must be perfectly cooked.
AND the ingredients must be top quality, especially the herbs, for that garden fresh taste.
PROCEDURE
Put the potatoes in a roasting pan in a cold oven (fan forced), turn the temperature to 200C (400F) and cook for 45-60 minutes until the potatoes are soft when pierced by a knife.
Lay each potato lengthwise and cut a 1 centimetre deep strip off each top.
Carefully remove the potato flesh with a smallish spoon taking care not to break the skin. Place the flesh into a bowl and set the potato casing aside. Keep the oven on.
Put the potato flesh into a saucepan and add the cream and butter. Turn the heat onto low and gently mix together until the butter is melted and everything is incorporated. The mixture should come away cleanly from the base of the saucepan.
Flatten the mix with a fork to ensure no hard bits of potato remain, season with salt and pepper and a small grating of nutmeg. Turn off the heat and mix everything in with a wooden spoon one more time.
Make the savoury custard by mixing one tablespoon of cream, ½ an egg yolk and the cheese together.
Add the chives and parsley to the potato flesh mixture and stir in, and fill each of the potato casings with the flesh, again using a smallish spoon (or piping bag).
Form a furrow along the centre of the flesh and fill it with the custard.
If the flesh is still warm, place the potatoes under a grill for 5 minutes to colour the custard, or otherwise return them to the oven for 10 minutes at 200C (400F) to warm the flesh and brown the custard.