Pommes Fondantes, or Skillet-Roasted Potatoes

There is an excellent restaurant here in Seattle called 611 Supreme. They make crepes, and some other Frenchy type dishes (and really good cocktails). Some of their crepes come with these amazing "breakfast potatoes", as they call them - silky, flavorful, meltingly soft. Jonah and I have long wondered how to recreate them at home, and never really got any further that. I found this recipe just this morning, nestled in one of my cookbooks, that while not a perfect recreation of the 611 potatoes, makes a damn fine potato nonetheless. 

This recipe has some fairly exacting instructions, despite being pretty straightforward. We followed them closely, and were pretty satisfied with the results. You will need to buy the right potatoes: they should be either baby Yukon Golds (my favorite) or baby Red Bliss (Jonah's favorite). They need to be less than 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and you must have a nonstick skillet. We used lil' red potatoes and my trusty cast iron skillet, and they turned out beautifully. 

from The Best American Recipes 2005-2006.

Serves 4 to 6.

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. baby red or gold potatoes

2 cups chicken broth, low-sodium

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 tsp. kosher salt (less if the broth is salty)

1-2 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives

Sea salt

Trim any eyes or damaged areas from the potatoes and wash well in cold water. Arrange as many potatoes as will fit in a single layer in a 10-inch non-stick skillet, with some extra room to spare. Add the broth, oil, butter, rosemary, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan but leave the lid ajar, and boil until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. The liquid should still halfway surround the potatoes; if it doesn't, add more broth or water until it does.

Remove the pan from the heat and press on each potato with a metal measuring cup (or anything with a rigid, uniformly flat base) just until it cracks open. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, until all the liquid has evaporated and the potatoes have browned on one side, about 10 minutes. Gently turn the potatoes and brown the other side, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the potatoes rest for 5 minutes before transferring them to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the chives and sea salt and serve immediately.

Notes:

- Make sure the potatoes have a little extra room in the pan. You need to be able to flatten them out and have them still fit.

- Be careful not to overcook the potatoes. If they are too soft, they will mash, not crack, when you press on them.

- When cracking open the potatoes, press gently but steadily. You want to crack open the skin, but the potatoes should hold together. Once the skin is broken they are much easier to crush, so be careful not to push too hard.

- The sea salt is not essential, but very tasty.